Bitter Enemies
by sycoandcrazy-inc
Summary: Because their rivalry had to start somewhere.
1. Chapter 1

A six year old Kazuma Kuwabara pulled himself up off of the ground, wincing in pain. Getting punched hurt a lot more than the TV said it did. He glared up at the jeering brown eyes of the boy who had knocked him down.

"Not so tough after all," mocked the smaller boy.

Kuwabara bristled and got to his feet, ignoring the pain of what would become a black eye to stare down his enemy. "You're going to regret this, Urameshi! One of these days, I'm going to make you pay!"

Yusuke Urameshi laughed at him. "I dare you to try it!"

* * *

><p>"Idiot," Shizuru scolded him when they walked home from school later. "How could you get in a fight on your first day? Mom and Dad are not going to be happy with you."<p>

Kuwabara raised his chin defiantly. "I had to. It was a matter of honor."

Shizuru rolled her eyes. "No more samurai movies for you. What he do to you anyways?"

"He threw a water balloon at a cat!" Kuwabara exclaimed, upset at the injustice of it all over again. "I couldn't let him get away with that!"

Shizuru's eye twitched and she hit him upside the head. "Idiot!"

Kuwabara rubbed his head as he warily followed Shizuru home. He would get Urameshi back, and not just for attacking the poor defenseless cat. Urameshi had humiliated him in front of the whole first grade class, and no self respecting samurai, no man, could take something like that lying down.

_I will defeat Urameshi and get back my honor, if it's the last thing I ever do!_

There was just the little matter of how exactly he'd manage to do it. Kuwabara didn't know how, but one day he would do it; he _would_ defeat Yusuke Urameshi.

* * *

><p>AN- This was written for Death101 Fox Version, who asked me to write something fluffy. Initially I planned for this to be a one shot only, however I have some ideas now and I will be extending this. This story will trace the growth of Yusuke and Kuwabara's rivalry turned friendship. Updates will be infrequent and random (though ideas from reviewers may speed them up, hint hint), and chapters will be no longer than 300 words.<p>

Prompt: Something Fluffy

Length:300 words


	2. Chapter 2

Kuwabara sat in his assigned desk which was, thankfully, across the room from Urameshi's. Every so often Kuwabara would glare over at Urameshi, who was staring out the window obviously ignoring what the teacher was saying.

"Okay everyone, time for recess," Mrs. Tanaka said.

The kids happily got out of their chairs and lined up at the door, waiting to go out to the playground, except for Kuwabara and Yusuke. Mrs. Tanaka had told them that because they had gotten in a fight the day before, they wouldn't be given a recess.

So Kuwabara sat at his desk with nothing to, his greatest foe just across the room.

The minutes seemed to take forever to go by; Mrs. Tanaka just sat at her desk reading. Kuwabara sighed. Did punishments always have to be so absolutely boring? To Kuwabara that was the worst part; having to sit still and do nothing.

Kuwabara glanced over at Urameshi again, and caught the other boy looking at him. Urameshi stuck his tongue out at Kuwabara, who quickly looked away. Kuwabara glanced at Urameshi again, and he twisted his face into another funny expression. Kuwabara had to bite his lip to keep from smiling; samurai did not smile at their enemies.

Urameshi pulled down the bottom of his eyes and crossed his eyes. Kuwabara snorted, it _wasn't_ a laugh, and thought, _I can do better than that._

Kuwabara pushed up his nose, rolled his eyes and wiggled his ears (a feat that Kuwabara was certain Urameshi couldn't copy). The two boys engaged in a silent face making contest, and Kuwabara was having fun despite himself.

_I'm still going to defeat him, _Kuwabara thought. He'd just prove he was the better face maker first.

Through it all, Mrs. Tanaka never said a word.

* * *

><p>Words: 297<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Two weeks had gone by without Kuwabara and Urameshi getting in a fight. This was partly because Kuwabara didn't want to get in trouble with his parent and teacher again, and partly because he'd gotten busy with some new friends all of which had made his humiliation at Urameshi's hands seem much less important.

Kuwabara and Okubo were trying to see who could cross the monkey bars the fastest when Sawamura ran up. "Hey, there's going to be a big race over by the sandbox! All the guys are running!"

Kuwabara dropped down to the ground, excited at the thought of a challenge. "Cool! Let's join it; I'll win for sure."

They dashed over to the sandbox, and Kuwabara was equal parts pleased and annoyed to see Urameshi standing in line for the race. Kuwabara marched over to the smaller boy.

"You'd better give up now, Urameshi! I'm definitely going to beat you," Kuwabara declared.

Urameshi just grinned. "Right, like you beat me before."

Kuwabara bristled, the full weight of his humiliation returning. "This time'll be different!"

"Everybody line up!" an older boy yelled. As everyone got in line, he continued, "You're running to the fence and back! No pushing allowed! On your mark…Get set…Go!"

Kuwabara took off like a rocket, sprinting ahead of everyone. In no time at all, he touched the fenced and started racing back the sandbox. He grinned widely; he was going to win!

Then the unthinkable happened; Kuwabara tripped and fell face first into the ground. He worked hard not to cry as he sat up, one hand over his bloody nose.

Urameshi smirked at him from the sandbox. "Better luck next time, Kuwabara."

* * *

><p>Words: 279<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Kuwabara's shoulders sagged as he followed Shizuru through their front door. The day had been awful. Not only had he lost the race to Urameshi and badly hurt his nose, all the boys at school (except for Kuwabara's friends), had laughed at him all day long.

Shizuru hadn't made things any better. She'd almost fallen to the sidewalk laughing when she'd seen Kuwabara's swollen nose and found out how he'd gotten it.

"We're home!" Shizuru called.

Their mother bustled out of the kitchen at the sound and smiled brightly at the two, her blue eyes dancing. "Welcome home, you two!"

Then she caught sight of Kuwabara's nose and her eyes widened. "Oh my! Kazuma, what on earth happened?"

Without waiting for a reply, she scooped a protesting Kuwabara up in her arms and set him down on the kitchen counter.

"Mom! I'm too big for you to pick up!" Kuwabara complained.

"You most certainly are not," his mother said, wetting a wash cloth and gently laying it over his nose. "Now tell me what happened, and you had better not have gotten in another fight."

Kuwabara hunched over in shame. "I tripped during a race and hit my nose on the ground."

His mother's face softened then. "My poor baby; don't worry, Mama will make you feel better. How about I make your favorite fish for supper tonight?"

That did make Kuwabara feel better. "Will you?"

She laughed, and brushed some strands of orange-red hair from her face. "Of course, baby. Now you keep that cloth on your nose, and go start your homework, okay."

Kuwabara hopped off of the counter. "Yes ma'am."

As Kuwabara walked to his room though, Shizuru said something that made all his good feelings go away.

"Just wait until Dad gets home."

* * *

><p>Word Count-297<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

"I'm home!"

The patriarch of the Kuwabara family had a loud, booming voice that echoed throughout the entire house. Kuwabara's mother swore that Kuwabara would one day have a voice just like his father, but Kuwabara wasn't sure how that was going to happen.

Kuwabara started to slink out of his room to greet his father, but as he got to the hallway, he hesitated.

_No,_ he thought._ I haven't done anything to be ashamed of. I lost to Urameshi again, but Dad always says that a man isn't a failure if he loses; he's a failure if he stops trying. I haven't stopped. I will defeat Urameshi if it's the last thing I do!_

So Kuwabara squared his shoulders and raised his head proudly, swollen nose and all, and marched into the living room where the rest of his family was waiting.

His dad took one look at him, and frowned. "Come here, Kazuma."

Kuwabara walked over and stood in front of his father. Craning his head back to look in his face, Kuwabara said, "Welcome home, Dad."

His father leaned down until he was at Kuwabara's eye level, which forced the man to bend nearly double. He studied Kuwabara's nose and said, "Huh, I hope the other boy looked worse."

Kuwabara's mother slapped the back of his head. "Dear!"

His father rubbed his head where she'd hit him. "What, you want Kazuma to come out on the worse end of a fight?"

"I didn't get in a fight," Kuwabara said.

His dad looked down at him. "What happened then?"

"I tripped in a race," Kuwabara announced firmly.

There was a moment of silence; then his dad started laughing.

_This is why I didn't want Dad to know. Him and Shizuru are just alike._

* * *

><p>Word Count-295<p>

Don't worry, Yusuke will be back in the next chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

Urameshi's arm shot out and grabbed Kuwabara's shoulder. "Whoa there," Urameshi said. "You were about to trip over nothing again!"

Kuwabara's hands clenched into fists. That was it! He'd born Urameshi's taunts for two whole days, but no more! He didn't care if fighting was against the rules; he was going to do whatever it took to shut Yusuke Urameshi up.

Kuwabara whirled around and lashed out with his fist, hitting Urameshi in the mouth. Urameshi stumbled back a few steps, and spat out a glob of blood and…

"You knocked out my loose tooth!" Urameshi yelled angrily.

"Serves you right!" Kuwabara said.

Urameshi's eyes flashed, and he tackled Kuwabara. The two boys rolled in the dirt, hitting, kicking and biting. It wasn't long though until a couple of teachers rushed out onto the playground and pulled them apart however. Still, the boys struggled to get at each other until Mrs. Tanaka's voice cracked through the air like a whip.

"Yusuke Urameshi, Kazuma Kuwabara! Just what do you two think you're doing?"

The boys both froze; that was a tone every child recognized.

"Well?" Mrs. Tanaka asked. "I'm waiting for an explanation."

Kuwabara and Urameshi glanced at each other. They both knew that Kuwabara could get Urameshi into more trouble if he told Mrs. Tanaka how Yusuke had been consistently making fun of him…but that wouldn't be fair. This was a fight between men, and it was going to stay that way.

"We're sorry for fighting, Mrs. Tanaka," Kuwabara said.

"It won't happen again," Urameshi added.

Mrs. Tanaka frowned. "That's not an answer."

The boys stayed resolutely silent. It was all the answer she was going to get.

* * *

><p>Words-278<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

Kuwabara sat in his room. His mother had been furious when she'd found out that he'd been in another fight, and disrespectful to his teacher on top of it. She'd ordered him to stay in his room and think about what he'd done until his father got home.

Kuwabara knew what he'd done had been against the rules, and he was sorry he'd upset everyone. However, he couldn't bring himself to be sorry for his actions. Hadn't his dad always taught him that his honor as a man was important? And he couldn't let anyone, for any reason, insult his honor?

Finally, he heard his father arrive home from work. Kuwabara's stomach clenched with nervousness. Soon now, Kuwabara would receive his punishment.

It was about ten minutes before Kuwabara's door opened and his dad walked in. Kuwabara immediately stood up, waiting for his father to speak.

"I hear you've been in another fight with that Urameshi kid," his father said, glancing at Kuwabara's various scrapes and bruises. He didn't sound angry, and that gave Kuwabara some hope.

"Yes sir," Kuwabara said.

"Want to tell me what happened?" his dad asked.

"He kept making fun of me for tripping in the race, so I hit him," Kuwabara said. Telling his dad what had happened wasn't the same at all as snitching to Mrs. Tanaka. Kuwabara knew that this dad wouldn't try and get Urameshi in trouble.

"I see," said his dad with a shake of his head. Kuwabara thought he heard his dad mutter something that sounded like, "having a son just like me," but wasn't sure what his dad meant by that and so didn't say anything.

"Kazuma," his dad finally said, "I'm not going to try and stop you from fighting Urameshi. But there are going to be _rules._"

* * *

><p>Word Count-300<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

The next day at school, Kuwabara marched up to Urameshi when they went to lunch. Urameshi scowled up at him from his food. "What do you want?"

"From now on, there are going to be rules," Kuwabara said.

"You can't make rules 'cause you keep losing," Urameshi said. "That's cheating."

Kuwabara bristled. "I'm not cheating! The rules are for both of us!"

Urameshi crossed his arms. "Kay, what are they then?"

"No fighting at school," Kuwabara said. "If we're going to fight, we have to do it after we leave school."

"You started both the fights here," Urameshi pointed out.

Kuwabara blushed, knowing Urameshi was right. "Well, that's not going to happen anymore!"

"What are the other rules?" Urameshi asked.

"No one else is allowed to get involved in our fights," Kuwabara said. "It's just me and you, no one else."

Urameshi nodded. "Anything else?"

"If one of us surrenders, we stop," Kuwabara said.

Urameshi seemed to think about this. Finally he nodded. "I can agree to that." He held out his hand, and Kuwabara shook it.

Kuwabara went back to eat with his friends, feeling proud of himself. He'd lain out the rules just like his father had said to, and Urameshi had agreed to them without a fuss. This way, according to his dad, they wouldn't get in so much trouble for their fights.

Kuwabara was actually a bit surprised that Urameshi had agreed to the rules so easily. He'd expected Urameshi to refuse anything that he suggested. The fact that Urameshi hadn't made Kuwabara respect him, just a little.

_I guess Urameshi's not a bad enemy to have._

* * *

><p>Words- 271<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

Kuwabara skipped into his house after school. For the past several weeks, his father had been teaching him how to fight properly. He'd said that if Kuwabara was going to have a rival then he needed to know how to put up a decent fight. So Kuwabara had lessons every day after school.

"Welcome home," his mom said as he and Shizuru took their shoes off by the door.

Kuwabara's happiness damped just a little when he saw his mom's frown. He knew she didn't approve of him learning how to fight. Why she disapproved Kuwabara didn't understand, but he'd heard her arguing with his dad about it at night when he was supposed to be asleep.

"Shizuru, go start on your homework," their mom said. "Kazuma, I want to speak with you."

Shizuru went down the hall to her room, and Kuwabara followed his mom to the living room where she sat on the couch. She patted the cushion beside her. "Sit."

Kuwabara sat beside her. "Is something wrong?"

His mom looked at him with a strange expression on her face. "No, sweetheart, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to ask you something."

Kuwabara relaxed. At least he wasn't in trouble. "Okay."

"Why do you want to learn how to fight?" she asked.

Kuwabara considered this, sensing his answer was somehow very important. He knew he wanted to defeat Urameshi, but Kuwabara didn't think that answer was good enough for his mom. But what other reason was there for him to fight?

"I don't know," he finally said.

His mom smiled and ruffled his hair. "When you figure it out, I want you to tell me."

"Yes ma'am," Kuwabara said.

"Go do your homework," she said.

Kuwabara left, but all he could think about was the question she had asked.

* * *

><p>Words: 300<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

Fall faded into winter, and winter melted into spring. Kuwabara's first year of school was almost over. He was intent on enjoying his last week with his friends, in case he didn't see them over the summer. This led him to ignore Urameshi and their feud (they'd had several more fights over the year, all of which Urameshi had won, but Kuwabara would get him soon!).

Kuwabara had all but forgotten Urameshi until one day a girl's voice interrupted his playing during recess. "Excuse me."

Kuwabara paused to look at her. He recognized her as Yukimura; she was in his class and sometimes played with Urameshi, but Kuwabara had never spoken to her before. After all, she was a _girl._

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Do you know where Yusuke is?" she asked. "I haven't seen him since recess started."

Kuwabara frowned. He hadn't paid any attention to where Urameshi was, and he really didn't care. "I don't know."

"Oh, okay," Yukimura said.

She started to walk away, and Kuwabara watched her go. She hadn't asked for his help, but she'd seemed so disappointed with Kuwabara's answer.

"Wait, Yukimura," Kuwabara said. "I'll help you look for him."

"Okay, thanks!" she said.

Kuwabara decided to walk around the side of the school and see if Urameshi was there. Kuwabara's guess was right, and he found Urameshi behind the school with three fifth graders. Two of the boys were holding onto Urameshi, while the third one pulled back his fist to hit him.

Kuwabara didn't try to figure out what was going on, he just ran and tackled the older boy who was about to hit Urameshi. Three on one, especially when the boys were so much bigger, was just unfair. Kuwabara wasn't about to watch anyone, not even Urameshi, get hurt like that.

* * *

><p>Words: 300<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

"I can't believe this!" Kuwabara's mom said as she marched him into their house. "You had one week of school left, one week, and you get yourself suspended for fighting!"

"But Mom," Kuwabara started.

"No buts!" she said. "Kazuma, I'm tired of hearing about you getting into fights. Why do you have to keep doing this?"

Her question reminded Kuwabara of the time, several months ago, when she'd asked the same question. He hadn't been able to answer her then.

"Those boys were going to hurt him, Mom," Kuwabara said. "It wasn't right; I had to help Urameshi."

She finally paused long enough to listen to what Kuwabara was saying. "What happened?"

"Those fifth graders had attacked Urameshi," Kuwabara said. "They were going to hurt Urameshi bad, so I tried to stop them."

His mom snorted. "Tried? I will never understand how two six year olds managed to beat up three ten year olds."

"Dad's a good teacher?" Kuwabara offered.

She sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"

Kuwabara shifted. "I know why I fight now."

She looked at him. "Do you?"

"I fight to protect," Kuwabara said.

That got a smile from her. "I see." She stared at him for a moment. "I guess your father's right. You were a fighter born, weren't you?"

Kuwabara shrugged, uncertain of the best way to answer her.

"If you're going to fight, there are some things I want to show you," she said.

Kuwabara perked up then. "Like what?"

Her blue eyes twinkled down at him. "Wait in the living room and you'll see."

* * *

><p>Words: 264<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

Kuwabara stared at the vivid pictures drawn in the book his mother was showing him. "This is King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table," she said.

"Knights?" Kuwabara asked.

"They were the samurai of my country," she said. "They traveled the lands and fought to protect the lands of their country. But they weren't all good."

Kuwabara frowned. "They weren't?"

His mother flipped the pages of the book to a new picture, one showing a ravaged town. "No. Many knights became corrupt, thinking they were so strong that they could do anything they wanted, even if they hurt others."

"They became bullies," Kuwabara said.

She nodded. "That's right. But King Arthur changed that. When he became king, he made all the knights swear an oath."

"What kind of oath?" Kuwabara asked.

"A knight knows only valor. His heart knows only virtue. His blade defends the helpless. His might upholds the weak. His word speaks only truth. His wrath undoes the wicked."

Kuwabara watched his mother in awe as she spoke, and he felt something stir inside of him. He didn't understand all the words, not really, but something inside of him whispered insistently, _This is important._

Kuwabara looked at the picture that accompanied the oath. It showed four knights in armor, one holding a sword aloft, the one beside him holding a bow and arrow, another on his horse a hand on the hilt of his sword, and the fourth leaned against a tree. Studying the knight holding his sword aloft, Kuwabara thought, _That could be me._

Impulsively, Kuwabara declared, "When I grow up, I'm going to be a knight!"

His mother kissed the top of his head. "You'll make the best knight there ever was, love."

* * *

><p>Words: 289<p> 


	13. Chapter 13

Kuwabara grinned from ear to ear as he dashed into the park and made a beeline for the jungle gym. Today was a perfect day for playing at the park and eating a picnic lunch with his mother and Shizuru.

Kuwabara scrambled up the pirates ladder and headed for the tallest slide on the jungle gym. He made it there at the same time as another boy, and they stared at each other in shock.

"What are you doing here?" Kuwabara and Urameshi demanded at the same time.

Urameshi recovered from his shock first. "I'm going down the slide first," he said.

Kuwabara's temper ignited then. "I was here before you!"

"Were not!"

"Were too!"

Urameshi shoved Kuwabara then, and Kuwabara grabbed Urameshi's arm to try and keep his balance. This resulted in both boys falling down the slide in a painful tangle of limbs. They hit the ground hard and rolled away from each other groaning. Kuwabara looked up when he heard Shizuru's laughter.

"You two look like idiots!" the older girl giggled.

Urameshi glared up at her. "What would you know? You're nothing but a girl!"

The smile was wiped from her face. She stomped towards Urameshi as Kuwabara shrank back, knowing whatever was coming wouldn't be good.

Shizuru dragged Urameshi up by the front of his shirt and hissed, "If you ever say anything like that to me again, pipsqueak, I will _break_ you."

She shoved the stunned and somewhat frightened looking Urameshi back on his butt and stalked away.

"It's okay," Kuwabara said to the shell shocked Urameshi. "Everyone's scared of my sister."

* * *

><p>Prompt: Only a Girl (Thanks Shiningheart of ThunderClan!)<p>

Words:267


	14. Chapter 14

After the park incident, the next time Kuwabara saw Urameshi was at the grocery store. Kuwabara's mother always made a big deal out of shopping; she made the whole family come and turned it into a big event (which Kuwabara loved, even though he pretended he didn't care since boys weren't supposed to like shopping).

He ran into Urameshi down the sweets aisle, reaching for the same bag of cookies. "Are you following me?" Urameshi asked.

Kuwabara scowled. "'Course not! I'm here with my family."

"Oh. Guess we both live near here."

The boys shuffled, not sure what to say to each other outside of school and with nothing to fight about.

"Yusuke! What's taking so long?"

Kuwabara looked up to see a woman coming towards them, half leaning on her shopping cart. She was sloppily dressed, and her long brown hair was in a messy bun. Her brown eyes looked just like Urameshi's.

"Mo-om!" Urameshi said. "I'm talking!"

The woman blinked and looked at Kuwabara. "Is this one of your little friends?"

"Kazuma, there you are!" Kuwabara's family wheeled down the aisle. "Who is this?" his mom asked.

"This is Urameshi, and his mom," Kuwabara said, feeling awkward.

"So you're the one we've heard so much about!" his mom said. She smiled at Urameshi's mother. "Pleasure to…meet you…" She trailed off, eyeing the contents of the other woman's cart (a case of beer and frozen dinners).

Urameshi's mom gave a funny smile, and said, "Right."

"Hey, Urameshi," Kuwabara's dad said, "you should come by our house sometime and join in Kazuma's fighting lessons."

Urameshi glared at Kuwabara. "You've been taking lessons? That's cheating!"

"Is not!" Kuwabara said blushing.

"Hasn't done him any good anyways," Shizuru added.

"Hey!"

"Nice meeting you," Urameshi's mom said, "but we've got to go. Bye."

* * *

><p>Prompt: Meet the Parents (Thanks AlleluiaElizabeth!)<p>

Words: 300


	15. Chapter 15

Kuwabara stomped down the sidewalk in his neighborhood. His mother had been bothering him about inviting Urameshi over for the past two weeks. Why she was so insistent, Kuwabara couldn't understand. It wasn't like Urameshi was his friend, he was a rival. You didn't invite rivals over to your house to _play._ It just wasn't right.

So Kuwabara had come outside to get away for a few minutes, though he wasn't allowed to go outside his neighborhood, and heaven help him if he set foot on the road. It didn't matter whether or not his mother saw him do it, if he disobeyed the rules she just knew. She called it her 'mother's intuition'. Whatever it was, it worked.

Kuwabara was dutifully sticking to the sidewalk when a sudden chill overtook him, making him pause. A tickly feeling ran up and down his spine. Scared for no discernible reason, Kuwabara looked around. A shadowy half-seen _something_ moved at the edge of his vision, and Kuwabara bolted back to his house as fast as his legs would carry him. He was so desperate to make it to the safety of the house, that he didn't notice Shizuru in the front yard and ran right into her.

"Kazuma, you idiot, what do you think you're doing?" Shizuru snapped.

Kuwabara looked up at her, fighting tears. "There was a-a-" He wasn't even sure what to call what he'd seen.

A look of understanding crossed Shizuru's face, and she glanced in the direction Kuwabara had come from. "Come on," she said, taking his hand, and pulling him behind the house. "We need to talk."

* * *

><p>Words: 270<p> 


	16. Chapter 16

Shizuru led him around to the backyard and sat him down by some bushes. "Were you by the Selling House?" Shizuru asked.

The Selling House was what they called a house on their street that no one ever lived in for long. It was always being sold to someone new, hence the name Selling House. Kuwabara had never bothered to think about why no one lived in the house very long.

"Yeah," Kuwabara said.

Shizuru nodded. "There's something that lives in that house. I'm not sure what it is; I think it's some kind of ghost or something. Whatever it is, it's mean. You need to stay away from the Selling House."

Kuwabara frowned. "But I've never seen anything there before."

Shizuru shrugged. "I couldn't tell it was there until I was in first grade too."

"Does-does everyone know it's there?" Kuwabara asked.

Shizuru shook her head. "I don't think so. None of my friends have ever noticed anything weird about it."

"Then why do we?" Kuwabara asked.

Shizuru shrugged. "I don't know."

"Did you tell Mom and Dad about it?" Kuwabara asked.

"Yeah, but they thought I was only imagining things," Shizuru said. "I don't think they can tell it's there either."

"Oh," Kuwabara said. "Are there other things like that?"

"Not in our neighborhood," Shizuru told him. "But yeah, sometimes you'll find other things like that. Most of the time they don't bother you. But sometimes they do."

"What do you do then?" Kuwabara asked, worried.

Shizuru rolled her eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You can't fight stuff like this; you have to run."

* * *

><p>Words: 272<p> 


	17. Chapter 17

There was a festival at the end of the summer, not to long before Kuwabara and Shizuru were going to have to return to school. Kuwabara was excited about going to the festival; it was a big one, so there was a good chance he'd meet up with all his friends there.

"Mom, aren't you ready yet?" Kuwabara asked, impatient to be on their way.

"I'm ready," she replied, "but your sister isn't quite yet."

Kuwabara pouted. His mom had made Shizuru a yukata to wear to the festival, and she had insisted on doing up Shizuru's hair as well. Kuwabara knew that Shizuru didn't actually like getting dressed up, but their mother insisted every year. Luckily, she had never tried to force Kuwabara into dressing up as well.

Kuwabara's dad walked over and ruffled Kuwabara's hair. "Here's a lesson you need to learn early, son. Never rush a woman; they'll be ready when they're ready, and not before."

"That's right," his mom said with a smile.

"Can we be ready now?" Shizuru asked.

Their mom adjusted the bow she'd been tying in Shizuru's hair. "Okay, we're ready."

It didn't take long to get from their house to the festival, and Kuwabara felt a familiar thrill when he saw it. The smell of frying food, the loud chatter and laughter of the people, the brightly colored booths; he loved every part of the experience.

They'd been there nearly an hour when Kuwabara caught sight of Okubo. "Mom, I'm going to say hi to Okubo over there," Kuwabara said.

"Okay, but come right back here," she said. "I don't want to lose you in this crowd."

"I will," Kuwabara promised, and then he dashed off to say hi to his friend.

* * *

><p>Words: 290<p> 


	18. Chapter 18

Kuwabara pushed his way through the crowd to where Okubo had been, but by the time he got there Okubo and his family were walking away. "Okubo! Hey, Okubo!" Kuwabara called, trying to catch up with the other boy, but in the crowd Okubo didn't hear him calling.

Kuwabara's shoulders slumped when he finally lost sight of Okubo. "Man, I'll never catch him now."

He turned to walk back to his family, only to realize he'd gone farther than he'd meant to, and didn't know the way back. "Uh oh," Kuwabara said. "Mom's not going to be happy."

Kuwabara went back the way he thought he might have come from, but didn't see any sign of his parents or anything that looked familiar. His heart rate sped up as he started to worry. What if he never found his family again? What if some stranger decided to kidnap him and sell him as a slave or something? Or what if aliens like the ones on TV stole him and took him to outer space? What if he was attacked by _clowns_?

Completely panicked, Kuwabara rushed around, trying desperately to find someone, anyone, who was the least bit familiar. That's why when he saw Urameshi, his relief was so great that Kuwabara actually hugged the other boy. "Urameshi, it's you!"

Urameshi shoved him away. "What are you doing, stupid?"

Kuwabara blushed bright red. "I was trying to strangle you of course!"

Urameshi glared. "You were _hugging_ me."

"Was not!"

"Whatever," Urameshi said. "I'm outta here."

Kuwabara felt that panic coming back. Urameshi couldn't leave him here! "Wait up, Urameshi! I'm coming with you!"

* * *

><p>Words: 272<p>

To those who thought this was going to end badly for Kuwabara...What on earth gave you that idea? *evil grin*


	19. Chapter 19

Urameshi stared at him incredulously. "What do you mean, you're coming with me? I didn't invite you!"

Kuwabara scrambled to come up with a reason. There was no way he was telling Urameshi he was lost and scared to be alone in the crowd. "Well, I got no one else to hang out with, and festivals are no fun alone."

"Festivals are plenty fun alone," Urameshi argued.

"No they're not," Kuwabara said.

"Yes, they are!" Urameshi snapped.

That was when Kuwabara noticed that there was no one in the crowd staying near them like they were with Yusuke. "Are you here alone?" Kuwabara asked, half impressed at Urameshi's audacity, and half ashamed of his own fear.

Urameshi shrugged, looking away. "Mom's here somewhere. She doesn't make me stay with her."

"Wow," Kuwabara said. "My mom would never let me go off alone like that."

Urameshi puffed up a bit at Kuwabara's praise. Then he said, "Hey, if your mom wouldn't let you go off alone, why _are_ you alone?"

Kuwabara wilted. "Um…"

"You got lost, didn't you?"

"…Yeah."

Urameshi doubled over laughing.

"It's not funny!" Kuwabara said, blushing.

"You're such a moron," Urameshi said.

"Oh yeah? Well, I bet I could beat you at ring toss!" Kuwabara said pointing at the nearest booth.

Urameshi sobered. "You're on!"

Moments later they stood in front of a line of glass bottles, three rings in their hands. Urameshi threw his first ring and missed. Kuwabara tossed his and made it. "Hah!" Kuwabara said.

Urameshi scowled and threw his second ring; this one made it. "Bet you can't do it again," Urameshi taunted.

Kuwabara threw his second ring, and this one missed. That meant they were tied one to one, with one throw left.

_I won't lose!_

* * *

><p>Words: 293<p>

AN-Okay, so nothing really bad is going to happen. After seeing the reviews, I couldn't resist teasing ^.^" Forgive me?


	20. Chapter 20

Kuwabara pulled back his arm, started to throw…

"Kazuma Kuwabara!"

…and completely missed.

His mother yanked him around to face her. "What do you think you're doing? We've been looking all over for you for almost an hour! I've been worried sick! I thought I told you to come right back!"

"I got lost," Kuwabara stammered.

"Yes, I can see that," she snapped in a tone of voice that said she didn't think Kuwabara had gotten lost at all. "We're going home right now, and you're grounded until school starts!"

"But," Kuwabara started to protest as his mother dragged him away.

"Hey, Kuwabara!" Urameshi called.

Kuwabara looked at him, and with a grin, Urameshi pointed at the bottles. Urameshi's last ring had made it.

Kuwabara hung his head as his mother continued to lecture him while they went to find his father and Shizuru and go home. This had to be the worst possible ending to summer ever.

_It's all Urameshi's fault._

* * *

><p>Words: 162<p> 


	21. Chapter 21

Kuwabara was eager to get to school on his first day of second grade. It meant the end of being grounded, and the start of consistently seeing his friends again. He nearly skipped down the sidewalk beside Shizuru, who finally called for him to calm down.

"It's just school," she said, with all the superiority of a sixth grader. "You'll get tired of it soon enough."

"But I like school!" Kuwabara protested. School meant friends, and recess, and fun.

Shizuru rolled her eyes. "So young, so naive."

Kuwabara frowned, trying to figure out what naïve meant. Thoughts of that were wiped from his mind however when he caught sight of his friends. He took off running, waving his hand to get their attention. "Hey guys!"

Okubo, Kirishima, and Sawamura all brightened at the sight of him. "Hey Kuwabara!"

The four boys began chatting about all the things they'd done that summer. At some point during the conversation, Kuwabara saw Yusuke saunter in the school, not bothering to greet anybody. The guys noticed the direction of his gaze and Okubo asked, "Are you going to beat Urameshi this year?"

"It's fourteen to zero, isn't it?" Kirishima asked.

Kuwabara flushed at the reminder of his past failures. "Yeah, but it won't be like that for long. This year, I'll definitely beat Urameshi!"

* * *

><p>Words: 220<p> 


	22. Chapter 22

To his credit, Kuwabara waited until the first week of school was over before challenging Yusuke to a fight. Kuwabara came off worse, going home with a black eye and bloody nose.

So Kuwabara challenged him again, and lost, again. And again, and again.

"That makes it eighteen to zero," Okubo told him after his latest failed attempt to defeat Urameshi.

Kuwabara pushed himself up off the ground, wincing in pain. "I'm pathetic," Kuwabara said, fighting back tears of frustration. "Dad's been training me, and I still can't beat Urameshi! I'm such a loser!"

"That's not true!" Kirishima said.

"Yeah, you're great!" Sawamura told him.

Their words didn't make him feel any better; praise was meaningless if he hadn't done anything to earn it.

"If you're done making a fool of yourself, it's time to go home," Shizuru called. She was getting impatient with his fights, as Kuwabara wasn't allowed to walk home by himself yet.

Kuwabara obediently followed her, shoulders slumped with defeat. He should probably quit fighting Urameshi. It wasn't like it was getting him anywhere.

"You know," Shizuru said, "Dad says you're only a loser if you give up. That means Urameshi can't beat you unless you quit fighting."

Kuwabara stopped walking as her words sank in. "You're right! I can't give up! I just have to get stronger, and _then _I'll beat Urameshi."

Shizuru shrugged. "If you throw a pebble at a wall long enough, eventually it'll go through. Or so says my science teacher."

Kuwabara's step had a new spring in it, despite his aches and pains. Eventually, he would win.

* * *

><p>Words: 266<p> 


	23. Chapter 23

Kuwabara and his friends nearly ran out of the school, giddy with happiness. They'd all gotten special permission to go to Sawamura's house after school today. Sawamura had a new video game, and he was going to show them how to play it; they were going to have so much fun!

It was while they were walking that Kuwabara saw some older boys from another school push a girl to the ground. Kuwabara stopped, struck by the wrongness of the action, and his mother's words echoed in his head. _His blade defends the helpless. His might upholds the weak._

"Leave her alone!" Kuwabara ordered.

"Get lost," one of the boys sneered. He lost his cocky look however when Kuwabara slugged him in the mouth.

It became an all out brawl then, Kuwabara's friends jumping on the other boys. It only took a few minutes for Kuwabara and his friends to win, and Kuwabara felt a thrill of exhilaration as the defeated boys ran away.

Kuwabara turned to the girl who was still sitting nearby. "Are you okay?" he asked, reaching out to help her up.

The girl flinched away from him. "Don't touch me!" She scrambled to her feet and ran away sobbing.

Kuwabara stood where he was, stunned. What had he done wrong?

* * *

><p>Words: 214<p> 


	24. Chapter 24

"What's bothering you?" Kuwabara's dad asked not long after picking Kuwabara up from Sawamura's house later that afternoon.

Haltingly, Kuwabara told him what had happened earlier, about how he'd saved that girl, and then how she'd reacted to him.

When Kuwabara finished, his dad stopped walking and hugged him tightly. "I'm proud of you, Kazuma," he said smiling. "You did the right thing, saving that girl."

"But she was scared of me!" Kuwabara protested.

"Sometimes that happens," his dad said. "Some people are scared of fighters, even when that person is fighting to protect them."

"That doesn't make sense!" Kuwabara complained.

His dad ruffled his hair. "Most of life doesn't."

* * *

><p>Words: 110<p> 


	25. Chapter 25

After school one day, Urameshi followed Kuwabara and Shizuru out of the building. I'm coming with you today," he said.

"What do you mean you're coming with us?" Kuwabara demanded. "You can't come with us."

Urameshi scowled, but Shizuru jumped in the conversation. "He can come," she said. "After all, Dad did invite him over, and do you really want to tell Dad you turned away his guest?"

Kuwabara wilted. There was no way a conversation like that would end well. "But that was months ago," Kuwabara protested.

Shizuru just gave him the look.

"Fine," Kuwabara grumbled.

"It's settled then," Shizuru said decisively.

Urameshi smirked victoriously at Kuwabara, who trailed behind his sister and rival. Why did Urameshi even want to come over anyways? It wasn't like Urameshi actually liked Kuwabara. When they made it to the house, Mrs. Kuwabara looked surprised to see Urameshi, but her surprise quickly gave way to pleasure.

"Well hello, dear," Mrs. Kuwabara said. "It's lovely to see you again."

"Nice to see you to," Urameshi said politely.

"Would you kids like a snack?" Mrs. Kuwabara asked.

Kuwabara brightened at the thought of food, and all three kids chorused their agreement. They followed her into the kitchen where she quickly made up some food for them. "Will you be staying for dinner?" Mrs. Kuwabara asked Urameshi.

Kuwabara glared at his mother. Why was she asking Urameshi to stay even longer?

Urameshi hesitated for a moment, and said, "Sure. My mom won't care."

Mrs. Kuwabara looked pleased. "Good. Now how about you all work on your homework until Mr. Kuwabara gets home, and then you two boys can have a lesson with him."

Kuwabara was stunned; this afternoon kept getting worse and worse. Kuwabara didn't want to share anything with Urameshi, least of all his father!

* * *

><p>Prompt: Come on Over Part 1 (Thanks Alleluia Elizabeth!)<p>

Words: 300


	26. Chapter 26

The two boys sat in tense silence in Kuwabara's room while waiting for his father to come home. Kuwabara tried to ignore Urameshi's presence by focusing on his homework, but it wasn't easy. The thought that Urameshi, his biggest rival, was in his room kept Kuwabara from being able to concentrate well at all.

They sat in silence for so long that Kuwabara was startled when Urameshi said, "I like your mom. She's nice."

Before Kuwabara could respond, his dad's booming, "I'm home!" rang through the house. Kuwabara ran out of the room to greet him, not caring if Urameshi followed or not.

Mr. Kuwabara hugged both his children before catching sight of Urameshi hanging back in the hallway. "Hey there, little man, I was beginning to think you'd never visit," Mr. Kuwabara said.

Urameshi scowled. "I'm not little."

"Of course, my bad," Mr. Kuwabara said with a laugh. He ruffled Kuwabara's hair. "Ready to start the lesson?"

"Yes!" Kuwabara said eagerly.

The three of them went out to the backyard where they always had their lessons. Kuwabara had to admit, if only to himself, that it was kind of fun to have another boy there while his dad was teaching him how to fight.

_It'd be more fun if it wasn't Urameshi._

They practiced for an hour before it was time for supper. Kuwabara was surprised by how much Urameshi ate (he asked for thirds).

_You'd think his mom never cooked for him._

Once supper was done, Mr. Kuwabara volunteered to walk Urameshi home over the boy's protests. "It's too late for you to walk by yourself," Mr. Kuwabara said. "Kazuma, want to come with us?"

Kuwabara was struck with a sudden curiosity about where Urameshi lived. "Sure," Kuwabara said.

"Be back soon!" Mr. Kuwabara called as they left.

* * *

><p>Prompt: Come on Over Part 2 (Thanks Alleluia Elizabeth!)<p>

Words: 300


	27. Chapter 27

The closer they got to Urameshi's house, the quieter he became, and the more his good mood seemed to vanish. They finally made it to a rundown looking apartment complex.

"This is it," Urameshi said. "I'm okay now."

Before Mr. Kuwabara could say his goodbye, one of the apartment doors opened, and Mrs. Urameshi stumbled out. She looked worse than she had in the store, with her hair hanging loose, her face unnaturally flushed, and her eyes glassy.

"Yushuke!" she called out, stumbling towards them. "Where've you been?"

Looking upset, Urameshi shoved her back towards the apartment. "Go inside, Mom!"

She frowned at him, slapping his hands away. "Yushuke, that'sh rude."

"He came to play at our house, ma'am," Mr. Kuwabara said.

She stared blankly at him for a moment. "I 'member you. That'sh fine."

She let herself be dragged off by Urameshi then, waving goodbye to Kuwabara and his father. "Good night!"

"Come on, let's go home," Mr. Kuwabara said, taking Kuwabara's hand.

"What was wrong with her?" Kuwabara asked, glancing back.

Mr. Kuwabara sighed. "She was drunk."

"Oh," Kuwabara said. "Do you think she does that a lot?"

"I don't know, Kazuma."

Kuwabara thought about that. He wouldn't want to go home either if his parents were like that. "I guess it's okay if Urameshi comes over sometimes," Kuwabara said.

But for some reason Kuwabara didn't understand, Urameshi never went to his house again.

* * *

><p>Words: 236<p> 


	28. Chapter 28

"Today class," Mrs. Ichoru said, "we're going to have a spelling bee! Now, I want all of you to line up in front of the class, and I'm going to give each of you a word to spell. If you get it right, you'll go to the end of the line for another turn. If you get it wrong, you have to go back to your seat."

The kids all lined up, most of them eager to try. Kuwabara was one of those, certain he had a good chance of winning. And just think how proud his parents would be if he came home and told them he'd won a spelling bee!

"Kuwabara, your word is fence," Mrs. Ichoru said when she got to him.

"F-E-N-C-E," Kuwabara confidently.

Mrs. Ichoru smiled at him. "Correct!"

Kuwabara watched as Mrs. Ichoru went down the line, eventually making her way to Urameshi. Kuwabara grinning, thinking, _I bet I'll make it longer than him!_

"Urameshi, your word is friend," Mrs. Ichoru said.

Looking bored, Urameshi said, "F-R-E-N-D."

Mrs. Ichoru frowned. "I'm sorry, Urameshi, that's incorrect. Please have a seat."

The other students giggled as Urameshi made his way to his chair, but Urameshi didn't seem bothered at all as he took his seat and laid his head down for a nap. Watching him, Kuwabara found himself wondering if Urameshi had really messed up, or if he'd misspelled his word on purpose because he just didn't care.

Kuwabara couldn't imagine not trying to succeed. _I hope I'm never like that._

* * *

><p>Words: 255<p> 


	29. Chapter 29

"Guess what class?" Mrs. Ichoru said, clapping her hands together one morning. "Today is Valentine's Day! This is a day that we celebrate all the people we love, like our family and friends. So today, I want you all to make a card for someone you care about."

Kuwabara smiled as he folded his piece of paper into a card. He knew all about Valentine's Day. Every year, his dad made a big deal of it, getting lots of gifts for Mrs. Kuwabara. He also gave chocolate to Kuwabara and Shizuru, but it was Mrs. Kuwabara that got the best gifts.

Kuwabara happily colored his card, knowing his mother would be pleased with it. He made a second one for his father, and after some thought, made another for Shizuru (though he wasn't sure if Shizuru would care or not).

"Yusuke, aren't you going to make a card?"

Kuwabara looked over to see that Yukimura girl standing by Urameshi's desk.

"No; it's stupid," Urameshi said.

"Is not!" Kuwabara argued, leaning over his desk to catch Uramehsi's attention. "Valentine's Day is great!"

Urameshi looked down his nose at him. "I wasn't talking to you."

Kuwabara twitched. "Valentine's Day is wonderful," Kuwabara insisted. "It's the time when you get to tell everyone important that they _are_ important!"

"Well, maybe I don't think anyone I know is important enough to get a card!" Urameshi snapped.

There was a soft gasp, and both boys looked to see the hurt cross Yukimura's face. "Well, if you don't have anyone that important…" She walked away.

Silently, Urameshi glared at Kuwabara, and then snatched up a piece of paper and started making a card.

* * *

><p>Words: 277<p> 


	30. Chapter 30

"Maybe you shouldn't challenge Urameshi again," Okubo said.

"Yeah, Kuwabara," Sawamura put in. "You're not completely better yet from last time."

"No guys, I have to challenge him," Kuwabara said. "I vowed to defeat him before this school year was over, and today is the last day of school."

"But to do that," Kirishima said, "won't you have to challenge him at school before the school day is over? Isn't that against the rules?"

Kuwabara paused. "Um, yeah, I guess."

"Won't you get in big trouble with your parents if you get in a fight at school?" Okubo asked.

"Ye-yeah."

"Doesn't losing your honor in order to get it back kind of defeat the whole purpose?" Kirishima asked.

Kuwabara slumped. "I guess." He scowled in the direction of his nemesis. "He gets off lucky this time, then."

* * *

><p>Words: 137<p>

AN: This chapter was posted early for LycheeTea, who was the 100th reviewer of Bitter Enemies :) Thanks to everyone who's reviewed/faved my story! You all make me incredibly happy.


	31. Chapter 31

It was summer again, and summer meant picnics in the park, swimming pools, cookouts, and best of all, ice cream.

It was the highlight of Kuwabara's week. Every afternoon, he, his mother, and Shizuru, would all walk down to the ice cream shop and order a bowl of ice cream. Kuwabara was determined to get through every flavor on the board before the summer was over.

One day when they went to the shop, they saw Urameshi looking in the window, a wistful look on his face.

"Hello, Urameshi!" Mrs. Kuwabara called cheerfully at him.

Urameshi jumped and scowled at them, a red tinge crossing his face. "Hi."

"We were just about to go inside," Mrs. Kuwabara said. "Would you like to join us for some ice cream?"

It was Kuwabara's turn to scowl; why did his mother insist on always trying to involve Urameshi if they saw him? What would it take for her to get that Urameshi wasn't a friend?

"I don't have any money," Urameshi said.

_Ha, now he can't come with us!_

"That's okay, I'll buy your ice cream," Mrs. Kuwabara said.

_No!_

Urameshi hesitated, glancing in the store, and back at Mrs. Kuwabara. Finally, he said, "No thanks, I have to go," and walked away.

Kuwabara couldn't understand why this would make Mrs. Kuwabara look sad.

* * *

><p>Words: 221<p> 


	32. Chapter 32

Kuwabara and Shizuru went to the park by themselves for the first time; their mother had finally said Shizuru was old enough to take Kuwabara on her own. Once there, the siblings parted ways; Shizuru to the swings and Kuwabara to the jungle gym.

Kuwabara was having fun, until he noticed a boy picking on a little kid in the sandbox. Scowling, Kuwabara slid down the slide and marched over to the sandbox. "Hey, leave that kid alone!"

The other boy shoved Kuwabara. "Why don't you make me?"

When Shizuru angrily dragged Kuwabara home five minutes later, he could be heard loudly protesting, "But Shizuru, he _asked_ for it! He did, I swear!"

* * *

><p>Words: 113<p> 


	33. Chapter 33

Kuwabara was crossing the monkey bars when someone yelled, "Hey, are you Kuwabara?"

He dropped to the ground and found three boys glaring at him. "Yeah. Who are you?"

The ringleader stepped forward. "You beat up my cousin last weekend, when he didn't do anything to you!"

Kuwabara thought back to the boy in the sandbox. "He was picking on a little kid."

"What's that got to do with you?" one of the boys sneered.

"A knight's blade defends the helpless," Kuwabara told him.

"You're no knight," the ringleader snapped. "And I'm gonna teach you that the hard way."

The boys jumped him then. Kuwabara fought back as hard as he could, but there were three of them, and they were all bigger.

"_What do you think you're doing to my son?"_

The boys scattered at the sound of Mrs. Kuwabara's voice. Kuwabara looked up and his eyes widened. He'd have run too, if all that fury had been directed at him.

Mrs. Kuwabara marched over to the woman the boys cowered behind. "Your boys just attacked my son! I demand that they apologize!"

The woman coolly glanced at Kuwabara, and then looked back at Mrs. Kuwabara. "They were playing a bit rough, but I don't see that there is any need for apologies."

Mrs. Kuwabara' face flushed as red as her hair, before fading back to white. She said something to the woman quiet enough that Kuwabara couldn't hear. The other woman's face paled then. "You wouldn't."

"Try me," Mrs. Kuwabara said.

"Apologize boys," the woman said a few moments later.

The boys reluctantly did so, and even though Kuwabara knew they didn't really mean it, their apologies were as satisfying as the smirk on Mrs. Kuwabara's face.

* * *

><p>Words: 289<p>

Sorry about this being a day late; would you believe I forgot yesterday was Tuesday? To make up for it being a day late, you'll get an extra chapter on Friday :)


	34. Chapter 34

The Kuwabaras went to the grocery store, and out in the parking lot was a family trying to give away some kittens for free.

"Oh, please can't we just go look!" Mrs. Kuwabara begged.

Mr. Kuwabara sighed. "Fine. But _only_ look. We aren't bringing one home."

Mrs. Kuwabara took her kids' hands and pulled them over to the kittens. "Aren't they the most adorable things ever?" she cooed.

Kuwabara studied them, trying to figure out what his mom found so fascinating about the squirming balls of fur. He carefully petted one, and smiled when he felt it start purring. "I guess they're kind of cute."

"Cats are my favorite animals ever," Mrs. Kuwabara said.

As one of the kittens played with his fingers, Kuwabara decided cats were his favorite animals too.

* * *

><p>Words: 131<p> 


	35. Chapter 35

Midway through the summer, Kuwabara started to wonder what Urameshi had been up to. Kuwabara hadn't seen him at all, except for that time at the ice cream shop. It seemed weird not to see Urameshi often; and anyways, how was Kuwabara supposed to challenge Urameshi when he wasn't around?

So Kuwabara started to keep an eye out for Urameshi whenever he went somewhere with his family, for even though he'd thought about it, he refused to ask permission to go to Urameshi's house. His parents would take it the wrong way and think he was actually _missing_ Urameshi, which Kuwabara definitely wasn't.

Still, when Kuwabara finally saw Urameshi at the park, he couldn't deny that a thrill went through him. It wasn't that he was happy to see Urameshi; it was that he was excited to be able to fight him again.

"You're going down, Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled, charging him.

Urameshi's head snapped up, and he returned Kuwabara's challenging grin. "Bring it!"

* * *

><p>Words: 163<p>

And here is your extra chapter since Tuesday's chapter was late. It is one of my personal favorites.


	36. Chapter 36

"Want to help me in the yard?" Mrs. Kuwabara asked.

"Sure," Kuwabara said, happy to do anything his mother wanted. He followed her into the front yard to the small patch of flowers planted along the house. They didn't have room for much in their yard, but Mrs. Kuwabara tended to it diligently.

As he pulled weeds, Mrs. Kuwabara said, "Did you know that flowers can talk?"

Kuwabara looked at her in awe. "They can?"

She smiled and nodded. "That's right, they can." She gently touched a bright yellow flower. "Daffodils stand for chivalry."

"What's chivalry?" Kuwabara asked.

"Chivalry means you follow the code of the knights," she told him.

"So daffodils are a knight's flower," Kuwabara concluded.

His mother laughed and stuck a daffodil behind Kuwabara's ear. "Indeed they are."

* * *

><p>Words: 131<p>

Okay, this time the late chapter was not my fault. My internet refused to work properly yesterday.


	37. Chapter 37

"You're getting really good, Kuwabara," his dad said one day after practice. "Keep this up, and soon no one your age will be able to beat you."

Kuwabara swelled with pride. "Really?"

His dad nodded. "Definitely."

Kuwabara ran inside and grabbed his shoes. "Come on, Dad, let's go!"

"Where are we going?" his dad asked.

"To Urameshi's house! I'm going to challenge him again!"

"Um, Kazuma," his dad started.

Kuwabara glared up at him. "You said I was good enough to beat anyone else my own age!"

"I said you'd be able to beat anyone your age soon," his dad said. "That's not the same thing."

"You think just because Urameshi's beaten me twenty six times that I'll lose again!" Kuwabara said, tears burning his eyes.

"No, no, that's not what I meant!" his dad said, frantically waving his hands.

"Do you believe in me or not?" Kuwabara demanded.

His dad sighed. "Okay. Let me get my shoes."

An hour later, after Kuwabara's twenty seventh loss, Kuwabara's dad patted him on the back. "I'm proud of you, you know."

"Why?" Kuwabara asked.

"Because you don't give up," his dad said. "And you won't let anyone else give up either."

* * *

><p>Words: 199<p> 


	38. Chapter 38

Kuwabara heard Urameshi sigh as Kuwabara pushed himself off of the ground again. "Dude, really? Why don't you just stay down?"

Kuwabara glared at him. "Because-because I'm Kazuma Kuwabara, and I never give up!"

He lunged at Urameshi again. Urameshi dodged, and Kuwabara was too tired and hurt to try and move out of the way when Urameshi's fist hit his face. Kuwabara hit the ground hard, and the world faded out.

He woke up a few minutes later with Shizuru poking him.

"What happened?" Kuwabara groaned.

"Congrats," Shizuru said. "You just got knocked out for the first time."

"Oh….Shizuru?"

"What?"

"Will you carry me home?"

"No."

"Okay…I'm just going to lay here a little while then."

But surely next time he'd get Urameshi.

* * *

><p>Words: 124<p> 


	39. Chapter 39

"So…What do you two want to do today?" Mr. Kuwabara asked. It was one of those rare days that their mom went off for a day to herself, leaving Mr. Kuwabara to entertain the kids by himself.

"Can we go to the arcade today?" Kuwabara asked hopefully. Mrs. Kuwabara never took them to the arcade; if Kuwabara asked, she'd go on about how video games rotted a person's brain or something (which Kuwabara chose not to believe).

"Sure," Mr. Kuwabara said. "That sound good to you, Shizuru?"

Shizuru shrugged. "I don't care."

"Then let's go!" Mr. Kuwabara said. They left the house and followed Mr. Kuwabara down the sidewalk. Mr. Kuwabara insisted on holding their hands, despite Shizuru's protest that she was old enough not to need to hold his hand. Kuwabara couldn't understand why holding their dad's hand would bother her. After all, their dad was awesome. Why would anyone be embarrassed about him?

_Shizuru gets weirder the older she is,_ Kuwabara decided.

"Here we are," their dad said when they made it to the arcade. He gave each of them a handful of coins. "Now this is all you get; spend it wisely."

Kuwabara eagerly rushed to his favorite game, only to find Urameshi already playing it. "This is my game!" Kuwabara said.

"You don't own it," Urameshi said, not looking away from the screen.

"Well," Kuwabara sputtered, having no comeback. "When you die, it's my turn."

Urameshi smirked. "Sure."

* * *

><p>Words: 242<p> 


	40. Chapter 40

Kuwabara couldn't believe it; Urameshi had been playing for _ten minutes_ and he wasn't dead yet! Kuwabara had never managed to last that long in the game before! Of course, Kuwabara didn't often get to play the games at the arcade…

"How did you get that good?" Kuwabara asked, impressed despite himself.

"I play a lot," Urameshi grunted.

Finally, Urameshi's character was overwhelmed, and died. Urameshi hopped down. "Your turn."

Kuwabara put his coins in the machine and started playing. Within two minutes, his character had been killed.

Urameshi snickered. "You're terrible at this game."

"Shut up," Kuwabara said. "I haven't gotten to play much, okay?"

"I guess I should let you play again then," Urameshi said walking away. "You need the practice way more than I do."

Kuwabara glared at Urameshi's retreating back. _I really, really hate that guy._

* * *

><p>Words: 140<p> 


	41. Chapter 41

Kuwabara's mother hugged him an extra time before the first day of school. "Be careful on your way there, and come straight home when school is over," she said.

"Mom, I'll be fine," Kuwabara said. "It's the same walk I always make."

"But you'll be alone," she said.

"I'll be with him half the way, Mom," Shizuru said, adjusting the skirt of her new middle school uniform. "He'll be fine. Besides, I was in third grade when I started walking to school by myself, and nothing bad happened to me."

Their mother sighed. "I know; I can't help worrying."

"Bye Mom," Kuwabara said. "I'll see you after school!"

She waved from the door as Kuwabara and Shizuru walked away. "I love you!" she called.

Kuwabara waved back with a grin. "Love you too, Mom!"

Shizuru just rolled her eyes. "Let's go."

The first day of school was fun. Kuwabara loved meeting up with his friends again, and finding out who his new teachers were. When the school day was over, he rushed home, eager to tell his mother everything that had happened that day. Oddly enough, when he got home, his mother wasn't there. As far as Kuwabara could remember, that had never happened before.

"She's probably out getting groceries or something," Shizuru said. "I'll make us a snack if you're hungry."

"Okay," Kuwabara said. Kuwabara ate his food and then went to sit on the front porch to wait for his mother. Surely she'd be home soon.

Time ticked by, but she didn't come. Finally, Kuwabara saw their car come down the road and pull in their driveway. Kuwabara hopped to his feet as his dad climbed out the car. "Dad!"

Kuwabara started towards him, but froze when he saw the look on his father's face. "…Dad?"

* * *

><p>Words: 298<p>

AN- And so begins the Arc of Sadness.


	42. Chapter 42

Kuwabara struggled to understand what his father had just told him and Shizuru. It didn't make any sense. What did dead mean anyways?

"But Mom was _here_," Kuwabara insisted, thinking back to that morning when she'd waved him goodbye.

"When she went to the store today, there was a robbery," their dad said, staring at his fists. "The robber shot her, and a couple other people."

Kuwabara had seen that before, on TV. But the people who got hurt there always got better. "A doctor could fix her," Kuwabara said.

"They tried," his dad said. "They tried, Kazuma. They couldn't…" Here he broke down in sobs, unable to speak anymore.

Tears trickled down Kuwabara's face as fear and pain began to slip through the numbness and confusion. His mother was gone; she was gone, and she was never going to come back. No more hugs, no more kisses, no more stories, no more freshly cooked meals, no more _anything._ Life was suddenly so _empty_.

Kuwabara curled into a ball and cried. He'd never known he could hurt this much. Arms wrapped around him, tugging him close. Shizuru held him tightly, not saying a word. Moments later, his father's arms wrapped around the both of them as well. Holding tight to each other, they did the only thing they could to share each other's grief.

* * *

><p>Words: 224<p> 


	43. Chapter 43

Kuwabara and Shizuru didn't go to school for the rest of that week; their dad didn't go to work either. He would go out on his own sometimes, and come back drunk. When he did, he always collapsed on the couch and cried himself to sleep.

Kuwabara never saw Shizuru cry. He heard her sometimes, late at night when he was supposed to be asleep, but she never cried in front of others. She did her best to take care of him, making sure he dressed, that the house was kept kind of clean, and fixing meals.

Kuwabara just tried to stay out of the way. When his dad wasn't home, Kuwabara would sneak into their mom's closet where her clothes still hung and just sit in there with the door closed, surrounded by the smell of her soaps and perfumes.

They went on like this until one day Shizuru and Kuwabara went to the kitchen to get food, and there was none. Looking determined, Shizuru marched into the living room where their dad was sprawled on the couch.

"Dad, get up," Shizuru ordered. "We need to go to the store."

Their dad's only response was to turn his head away.

Shizuru's eyes narrowed. She pulled back her hand, and before Kuwabara could tell her not to, she slapped their father in the face as hard as she could.

He jerked upright then, staring at Shizuru in amazement.

"Dad, there's no food," Shizuru said calmly. "There's no food, and we're hungry. You still need to take care of us, or did you forget that?"

He looked at Shizuru, and then over at Kuwabara who was standing uncertainly in the doorway. He closed his eyes with a groan. "I'm sorry, kids." He struggled to his feet. "Just let me get dressed."

* * *

><p>Words: 300<p> 


	44. Chapter 44

It seemed wrong, the day Kuwabara finally went back to school. He couldn't really think of any reason to go. What was the point, now that his mother wasn't there to get excited if he did well?

Once he arrived, Kuwabara discovered another reason for not wanting to be there. Everyone kept staring at him and whispering when they thought he wouldn't notice, even the teachers. Everyone knew what had happened, and most of the kids avoided him like having a dead parent was contagious.

Okubo, Sawamura and Kirishima stuck by him. They carefully didn't mention his mother, or anything pertaining to parents at all, for which Kuwabara was grateful. He didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want to talk about anything.

When recess rolled around, Kuwabara stayed at the edge of the playground, making no effort to join in the games of the other children. The idea of running around and trying to have fun just seemed disrespectful.

A shadow fell over Kuwabara where he was sitting, and he looked up to see Urameshi. "Go away," Kuwabara said. He didn't have the energy to fight today. He might never have the energy to fight again.

Urameshi didn't leave though. He just said, "I don't have a dad."

Kuwabara met his eyes then, and saw the same pain mirrored there. The pain of knowing what should have been, and never would be. The pain of knowing there was a hole in your heart that would never fill up again.

Urameshi sat down beside him, and Kuwabara didn't pull away. They didn't speak anymore. There was nothing more that needed to be said.

* * *

><p>Words: 274<p>

On a more cheerful note, I'm participating in NaNoWriMo for the first time this year! But don't worry, it shouldn't interfere with updating Bitter Enemies (hopefully).


	45. Chapter 45

They started visiting her grave on the weekends. It was an hour drive to the graveyard, so there wasn't any other good time to go. Kuwabara wasn't sure why they went so often. It wasn't like she was _there_. They couldn't see her, or talk to her, so what was the point?

Kuwabara had a hard time finding a point in anything these days.

Mr. Kuwabara always stared intently at her gravestone whenever they went. He often cried as well, but he never let his attention waver from the stone. "What are you doing?" Kuwabara asked one day, confused about his father's concentration.

His dad looked down at him and smiled, just a little. "I'm talking to her."

"But Mom isn't here," Kuwabara said.

"True," his dad said, "but I think her spirit is watching us still, making sure we're okay."

Kuwabara bit his lip. "What do you say to her?"

Mr. Kuwabara placed a hand on his and Shizuru's shoulders. "I promise her I'll try to take care of you two the way she'd want me to do."

_A promise…_ Kuwabara looked at her gravestone, considering. Could he make her a promise that would make her happy too?

"_You'll make the best knight there ever was, love."_

Determined, Kuwabara stepped forward and knelt in front of her gravestone. Placing his hands on it, Kuwabara said, "I will know only valor. My heart will know only virtue. My blade will defend the helpless. My might will uphold the weak. My word will speak only truth. My wrath will undo the wicked."

He looked back at his dad. "Do you think she'll like that?"

"Yeah," he said in that rough voice Kuwabara had learned meant he was fighting tears. "Yeah, I think she will."

* * *

><p>Words: 293<p>

AN: I really want an illustration of this moment, but know I could never do it justice. If any of you happen to be artists, I would love you forever and a day and then some if you'd draw this for me!


	46. Chapter 46

As the months went by, the pain dulled, little by little. It never went away, but Kuwabara simply got used to having to carry it. Life went on, with or without his mother, and Kuwabara had to follow where it led.

Christmas time rolled around, and it brought a sharp increase to the pain in the Kuwabara family. Christmas wasn't a big deal to many of Kuwabara's friends, but it had been his mother's favorite holiday. She'd always gone all out for it, decorating the house from top to bottom, inside and out, infecting everyone with her Christmas spirit. Could it be Christmas without her there?

Mr. Kuwabara sat Shizuru and Kuwabara down to talk one day. "I wanted to know what you two want to do for Christmas," he said. "If you both want to celebrate it, we can, but if you'd rather ignore it, that's fine too."

"I don't care," Shizuru said. "We can do whatever Kazuma wants."

Kuwabara hesitated. It would hurt, he knew, to see the decorations up and presents around the tree knowing that his mother wasn't there to celebrate with them. But it didn't seem right to ignore something his mother had loved so very much.

"I want to celebrate," Kuwabara said. "Just a little bit. I think she'd want us to."

Mr. Kuwabara smiled. "All right then. I guess this weekend we'll need to find us a tree."

* * *

><p>Words: 235<p> 


	47. Chapter 47

After buying the tree, they dragged their old Christmas ornaments out of the attic to decorate it. It started off quietly at first, each carefully wrapped ornament another reminder that his mother was gone.

Before they were even halfway done, Shizuru began humming a familiar tune. It was their mother's favorite Christmas song.

Taking his cue from Shizuru, Kuwabara starting singing the words. "Silver bells, silver bells, its Christmas time, in the city."

His dad joined in, and soon they were all singing at the top of their lungs. For the first time since his mother's death, Kuwabara found himself believing that things just might turn out okay.

* * *

><p>Words: 108<p> 


	48. Chapter 48

It didn't hurt as much to go to school again after winter break. Kuwabara found he was able to play with his friends again and not feel guilty about having fun when his mom was gone. He still didn't care about the schoolwork though. Kuwabara decided the people were far more important, and his friends should be his focus, not whatever work the teacher assigned him.

It was because of his newfound focus on the people around him that Kuwabara heard about the bully.

"Yeah, Kuno is a scary guy," Okubo confirmed. "He's a fifth grader, and he keeps taking lunch money off of first and second graders."

"But he's a coward," Kirishima said. "He won't pick on anyone older than a second grader."

"Unforgivable!" Kuwabara said. "As a man, I can't stand by and let this happen!"

"You're going to beat him up, aren't you?" Sawamura asked.

"If he won't apologize, that's exactly what I'll do," Kuwabara said.

Kuwabara sought Kuno out on their break and laid down his demands. "You're going to stop picking on little kids, and apologize to all of them!"

Kuno sneered. "Why don't you make me, you little punk?"

"Fine," Kuwabara said. "But you asked for this."

Utilizing every lesson his father had taught him, Kuwabara attacked the older boy. It didn't take long until Kuno was begging for mercy.

Kuwabara stepped back. "I don't want to hear about you picking on kids ever again!"

He turned to walk away, and out of the corner of his eye, Kuwabara saw Kuno lunge for him. Kuwabara whirled around, but before he could do anything to defend himself, a fist shot out and knocked Kuno back down.

Urameshi grinned at a stupefied Kuwabara. "Guess you're back, huh?"

Kuwabara smiled back. "Yeah. Guess I am."

* * *

><p>Words: 298<p> 


	49. Chapter 49

"Kirishima," Kuwabara said one day during lunch, "what's the count right now?"

"Twenty-nine to zero," Kirishima said.

"I don't know how you can forget something like that," Sawamura said.

Kuwabara scowled at him. "I haven't fought Urameshi all year," he said defensively.

He hadn't felt like fighting since…Well since. But his heart didn't hurt as bad now as it had before, and he found that he missed the thrill that only fighting Urameshi could give him.

"Are you going to make it an even thirty to zero?" Okubo asked.

"Okubo!"

"Sorry," Okubo said hastily. "I meant twenty-nine to one, of course."

Kuwabara stared at him, unconvinced. "Want my dumpling?" Okubo offered with a nervous smile. Kuwabara accepted the dumpling, deciding that Okubo's words could be forgiven this time.

When school ended, Kuwabara rushed outside the gates and found Urameshi. "Urameshi! I challenge you!"

Urameshi stopped and smirked. "You're just a glutton for punishment, aren't you Kuwabara?"

"This time, I'm going to win," Kuwabara said.

"We'll see about that!"

They went to it with a will, not holding back. Kuwabara was proud of how he was keeping up, until he tripped and fell towards Urameshi. Unfortunately, Urameshi chose that moment to throw his hardest punch yet, and it connected solidly with Kuwabara's nose.

Kuwabara fell to the ground, pain searing through his face, accompanied by a sharp crack. He tried not to cry as blood gushed out of his nose and stained his shirt. It was more blood than he'd ever seen, even counting his other nose bleeds.

His friends immediately surrounded him. "Kuwabara, are you okay?"

"Okubo, go get the nurse!"

"Stay away from him, Urameshi!"

Kuwabara looked up just in time to see Urameshi run away, and then the nurse was there, and Kuwabara forgot everything except his pain.

* * *

><p>Words: 300<p> 


	50. Chapter 50

Kuwabara tried to ignore the giggles that followed him through the school building. His nose was swollen and purple, and would, his dad had sighed, be crooked from now on. But it hurt and people didn't need to laugh at him about it.

_I'd like to see them deal with a broken nose,_ Kuwabara thought. Better yet, he'd like to see Urameshi with a broken nose. Now that would be justice.

"Hey, Kuwabara."

Kuwabara looked up from his desk to see Urameshi standing in front of his desk. Kuwabara glared. "Go away, Urameshi!"

Giggles rippled through the classroom at the way Kuwabara's voice sounded, and his ears turned red with embarrassment. "I'm never forgiving you for this!" Kuwabara hissed in a quieter voice so the other kids couldn't hear him.

Urameshi looked startled, then mad. "Whatever. It's your own fault for being such a klutz."

Kuwabara slammed his hands on his desk and stood up. "Take that back!"

"Urameshi, Kuwabara, both of you sit down!"

The kids wilted into their desks at their teacher's glare. "There's only two more weeks of school, and I don't want any more trouble out of either of you."

"Yes, Sensei," they said. But as soon as the teacher wasn't looking, they traded glares again.

* * *

><p>Words: 210<p>

AN-Just so you know, I'm going to be traveling this week, so I won't be able to update on Thursday like I normally do. Hope you all have a good Thanksgiving!


	51. Chapter 51

The first week of summer was strange as Shizuru and Kuwabara tried to get used to being in the house by themselves. They'd never been left alone all day like this before; they knew their dad hated it, but he had to work.

One morning when Kuwabara went in the kitchen for breakfast, he found Shizuru waiting for him with one of their mother's flowery aprons. Handing him the apron, Shizuru said, "Put that on. I'm going to teach you how to cook something."

Kuwabara balked. "Why do I need to learn how to cook? That's what girls do!"

Kuwabara wished he could take the words back as Shizuru glared at him. "You're learning because I'm not going to baby you, and at nine you ought to be able to do something. Now put the apron on!"

Kuwabara quickly put the apron on, eager to avert her wrath.

"I'll teach you something easy today, cheese toast and scrambled eggs," Shizuru said.

The cheese toast was easy to make; just some slices of cheese on a piece of bread stuck in the oven. The eggs proved to be a bit trickier. Kuwabara burned the first batch, but his second batch, though not as light and fluffy as his mother or even Shizuru made them, was at least edible.

And even though it was girl's work, Kuwabara found that it was actually fun cooking with Shizuru, and he felt a sense of accomplishment when the meal was ready. "Will you teach me how to make more stuff?" Kuwabara asked as they sat down to eat.

Shizuru rolled her eyes. "Of course," she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You can't live off of just cheese toast and eggs."

Kuwabara smiled at her. "Of course."

* * *

><p>Words: 298<p> 


	52. Chapter 52

Kuwabara was proud the day he went to the park by himself. His dad was at work, and Shizuru had refused to go in favor of her summer homework. She had however said he was old enough to go on his own if he wanted.

_Now Urameshi isn't the only one who can go to the park by himself,_ Kuwabara thought gleefully. Kuwabara had noticed how Urameshi never had his mom or a babysitter with him at the park, even though Urameshi never said anything about it himself.

Kuwabara was disappointed then, when he got to the park and found that Urameshi wasn't there, or anyone else he knew. He tried to play by himself for a while, but he found playing at the park wasn't any fun without anyone else.

_How does Urameshi do this by himself all the time?_

Slowly, Kuwabara began to wonder if being alone all the time was what made Urameshi so grumpy. Not that Urameshi ever complained about being alone. In fact, if the topic was ever mentioned, Urameshi claimed he _liked_ to be alone.

Kuwabara sighed as he started to walk back home. _I guess it's just me._

* * *

><p>Words: 195<p> 


	53. Chapter 53

Kuwabara and Okubo kicked about a soccer ball in Okubo's front yard. While they were kicking the ball, Kuwabara noticed a girl about his age across the street yelling at a younger girl. Kuwabara paused, his heart tugged by the look of absolute misery on the little girl's face.

"What's going on over there?" Kuwabara asked.

Okubo barely glanced over before answering. "That's just Yumi. She yells at her sister all the time like that."

Kuwabara frowned. That was no way to treat you younger sibling. Sure, Shizuru yelled at him sometimes, and hit him too if he was being especially stupid, but Shizuru had never made Kuwabara feel as miserable as that little girl looked.

When Yumi pushed her sister causing the girl to burst into tears, Kuwabara could take no more. After looking both ways, he marched across the road and called to her, "Hey, quit doing that! You're making her cry!"

The girl turned on him with a sneer. "Go away. It's none of your business what I do with my sister."

Kuwabara bristled at her haughty tone. "I can't stand by and watch anyone get picked on."

Yumi tossed her long black hair. "That sounds like a personal problem."

She turned back to her sister and, irritated, Kuwabara reached out and grabbed her shoulder. Yumi whipped around with a hand out to slap Kuwabara, and he reacted without thinking. Raising one arm, he blocked her blow as his other hand shot out and hit her on the cheek.

Yumi fell to the ground sobbing with blood pouring from her busted lip. Her little sister started shrieking loud enough to raise the dead.

Horrified, Kuwabara ran.

* * *

><p>Words: 279<p> 


	54. Chapter 54

Blind to the world around him, Kuwabara ran all the way home. He didn't stop running until he was inside the house and he threw himself on top of his father who was sitting on the couch.

"Whoa, Kazuma!" his dad said. "What happened?"

Sobbing, Kuwabara poured out the whole story. He hadn't meant to hurt Yumi. When she tried to hit him, he'd just reacted.

But worst of all, he felt as though he'd let down his mother. Not hitting girls hadn't been a part of his oath specifically, but he had sworn to defend the helpless and uphold the weak. Yumi might not have been helpless exactly, not compared to her sister, but she was definitely weak enough that Kuwabara never should have touched her.

_I broke the oath I made Mom…I broke my oath._

Mr. Kuwabara was silent for a moment when Kuwabara stopped speaking. "I don't think I need to tell you what you did was wrong," he said.

Kuwabara nodded miserably. He wished his father would get angry at him. Anger would be easier than the disappointment in his eyes.

"You know what we have to do now," Mr. Kuwabara said.

Kuwabara nodded again. His dad had told him more than once. If you messed up you had to make it right. This meant Kuwabara needed to apologize. "Will you come with me?" Kuwabara asked. Shameful as it may be, Kuwabara was scared to face Yumi and what he had done by himself.

Mr. Kuwabara patted his head. "Of course. Let's go."

* * *

><p>Words: 257<p> 


	55. Chapter 55

Kuwabara was so scared he thought he might be sick as he stood on Yumi's front porch. He would probably have run away if his father hadn't been standing behind him making sure he didn't. Gathering all the courage he had, Kuwabara reached up with a shaking hand and knocked on the door.

There was a moment of silence before the door was opened by a man who must have been Yumi's father. He was shorter than Kuwabara's dad, and pudgy with glasses on the bridge of his nose. When his eyes narrowed Kuwabara understood that this man knew that Kuwabara was the one who had hurt Yumi.

"How dare you come back here after what you did!" the man demanded.

Kuwabara cringed, guilt and fear roiling inside him. "I came to apologize to Yumi," he managed to say.

"You think a mere apology is good enough after what you did to her?" Yumi's father ranted. "She lost a tooth because of you, you little punk! Do you have any idea how much it's going to cost me to replace it?"

Kuwabara shrank back in the face of his rage. She'd lost a tooth? Surely he hadn't hit her that hard…At least, he hadn't thought he had. Tears built up in his eyes, and it was all he could do not to start crying like a fool.

"That's enough." Kuwabara couldn't remember his father every using a tone like that before. It would have terrified him if he hadn't known it was directed at someone else.

"Kazuma knows what he did was wrong, and he came to apologize," Mr. Kuwabara said. "But if all you can do is verbally assault a nine year old child who is very sorry for what he did, then you don't deserve his apology. Let's go, Kazuma."

Kuwabara took his dad's hand and they walked away. "But Dad," Kuwabara spoke up, "he was right."

"No, he wasn't," Mr. Kuwabara said firmly. "If someone is truly sorry for what they've done, you forgive them. Anything else is dishonorable." He looked down at Kuwabara and spoke in a gentler voice. "And don't forget to forgive yourself when you mess up. If you regret something you did, resolve not to do it again and move on. Don't let yourself feel guilty forever, okay? Your mom wouldn't want that."

Kuwabara wiped his eyes on his sleeve. His dad was right; Mom wouldn't want him to be miserable forever. He needed to forgive himself and move on.

_And I swear as a man, I will never hurt another girl again._

* * *

><p>Words: 430<p>

AN:…*peaks out from beneath a rock*…Don't kill me for my lateness? Please? I came home for Christmas break and got very, very lazy. Many apologies! As penance, I've broken my 300 words a chapter limit for you all (but only for this chapter…and maybe the next one. Maybe.). I will try my best to get the next chapter up tomorrow for you guys since I skipped all last week.

Thanks for your patience! I am not deserving!


	56. Chapter 56

Kuwabara studied his mother's flower bed. It had been sadly neglected since her death, and was overgrown with weeds and the flowers were in disarray. "Mom would never have let it get like this," Kuwabara muttered to himself.

Kuwabara determined to do something about it. He didn't know much about plants, but he did know the difference between a weed and a flower, so he could weed the garden if nothing else.

It was hours of hot, backbreaking work digging up the weeds. When he'd been at it a while, Shizuru came out the house with a tall glass of lemonade, just like their mom used to make.

"I figured you'd be thirsty," she said, and Kuwabara gulped it down with a quick thank you.

Shizuru eyed his work. "I wish I'd have thought of her garden," she said.

Kuwabara blinked up at her. "You can still help."

Slowly, Shizuru smiled and laughed at herself. "Yeah, I guess I can."

* * *

><p>Words: 160<p>

AN: And now I am caught up with myself for the posts I missed last week. Yay! Also, I know there has been a severe Yusuke shortage lately. Don't worry, I promise he'll be in the next chapter.


	57. Chapter 57

"So, what should we do today?" Mr. Kuwabara asked. He had the day off of work, and to Kuwabara's delight, he was planning to spend the whole day with his kids.

"Can we go see the Mighty Rangers movie at the theater?" Kuwabara asked eagerly.

"No way!" Shizuru protested. "That's a little kid movie!"

"Is not!" Kuwabara said hotly. "It's a great story about heroes protecting the world from alien invaders that want to enslave the earth! The Mighty Rangers are like modern day knights!"

"If we watch the Mighty Rangers this week, you can pick a movie for us to watch next week," Mr. Kuwabara offered.

Shizuru gave in with a sigh. "Fine."

They climbed into their car and started off. Kuwabara could barely keep still, he was so eager to watch the movie. He almost didn't notice when his dad stopped the car at the park.

"Huh? What are we doing here?" Kuwabara asked.

"I saw someone I thought might want to come with us," Mr. Kuwabara said.

Kuwabara looked out the window and saw who had caught Mr. Kuwabara's eye. It was Urameshi, sitting by himself on a park bench.

Kuwabara scowled. He hadn't seen Urameshi since the end of the school year when he'd broken Kuwabara's nose. Kuwabara still hadn't forgiven him for that.

But before he could protest, his dad got out of the car and walked over to Urameshi. Kuwabara couldn't hear what was said, but when Mr. Kuwabara came back to the car, Urameshi came with him.

* * *

><p>Words: 254<p>

AN: No, the Mighty Rangers is not an obvious and blatant reference to the Mighty Morphing Power Rangers. Why ever would you think that?


	58. Chapter 58

"Hey," Urameshi said as he climbed in the backseat beside Kuwabara.

Kuwabara scowled and refused to return Urameshi's greeting until he saw his dad's glare in the review mirror. "Hello," he grumbled.

"So, what have you done this summer?" Mr. Kuwabara asked.

Urameshi shrugged. "Nothing much."

Before a moment of uncomfortable silence could build up, Mr. Kuwabara asked, "So, which is your favorite Ranger?"

Urameshi instantly perked up. "The Green Ranger."

Kuwabara couldn't help but scoff. "The Red Ranger is way cooler."

Urameshi smirked. "Then how come the Green Ranger was able to beat him up when they first met?"

Kuwabara sputtered. "Well, how come the Red Ranger is the leader if the Green Ranger is so great?"

Urameshi rolled his eyes. "He couldn't be the rebellious team member if he was the one in charge."

"They're both pathetic," Shizuru said, "now hush."

There was a moment of shocked silence before both boys erupted in protests even louder than before.

"We're here!" Mr. Kuwabara called over the noise, sounding surprisingly cheerful despite all the arguments.

Pretty soon they had their tickets and large popcorn to share and were settled in the theater seats, eagerly waiting for the show to start. When it did, Kuwabara was swept away in the story of the epic fight between good and evil.

But more memorable than the movie was the moment near the end when Urameshi leaned over and whispered in rushed, low voice, "I'm sorry I broke your nose."

Kuwabara looked at him in surprise, but Urameshi refused to meet his gaze. He wavered a moment on whether or not he should extend forgiveness; that broken nose had _hurt._ But then he remembered his dad's words, and Kuwabara lightly punched Urameshi in the shoulder with a grin letting him know everything was okay.

* * *

><p>Words: 300<p> 


	59. Chapter 59

As they neared Urameshi's house after the movie to drop him off, Kuwabara casually remarked, "I was thinking about going to the park tomorrow."

Urameshi glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Kuwabara said. "I can cross the monkey bars in fifteen seconds; I wanted to see if I could beat my personal record."

Urameshi smirked. "Please; I could do it in ten."

"I don't believe you!" Kuwabara said.

"Then I'll meet you at the park tomorrow and prove it!" Urameshi said.

"Fine," Kuwabara said. "Be there at eleven."

"I will," Urameshi said.

Satisfied with the challenge issued, Kuwabara settled back in his seat.

_Why's Dad laughing like that?_

* * *

><p>Words: 114<p>

AN- I hope you all enjoyed Christmas as much as I did; and I wish you a happy New Year!


	60. Chapter 60

Kuwabara tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep. According to his digital clock, it was nearly midnight; his first day of fourth grade started tomorrow, and if he didn't get any sleep he wouldn't do well.

But a crushing fear pressed in on him, like the darkness in his room, choking him until he could barely breathe. All he could think about was what had happened on the first day of school last year. He'd left for school so happy and excited, only to find a most important part had been ripped away from him forever.

He couldn't bear it if it happened again.

Unable to stand the oppressive darkness any longer, Kuwabara struggled out of his sheets and nearly ran to his door. He was trembling so badly he almost couldn't turn the handle, and when he finally got the door open, he did run, straight to his father's bedroom.

His dad started awake as Kuwabara climbed into the bed. "Kazuma? What's the matter? What happened?"

Kuwabara threw his arms around him, uncaring of the fact that he was crying like a baby. "Don't die, Dad. Please, don't…Don't die."

Mr. Kuwabara's arms instantly tightened around Kuwabara. "Its okay, Kazuma. I'm not dying anytime soon. I promise; I'm not going anywhere."

Slowly, Kuwabara's tears eased to a stop. "Promise you'll be here tomorrow when I get home?"

Mr. Kuwabara kissed the top of his head. "I promise I'll be here."

Relieved and reassured, Kuwabara closed his eyes and snuggled close to his dad. He hadn't slept in his parents' bed in years, feeling he was far too big for such a thing. But for one last night, he wanted to feel like a little kid, safe and protected from the world by his father's strength.

* * *

><p>Words: 297<p> 


	61. Chapter 61

Kuwabara was possibly the least attentive child that first day of school. He ignored the teacher, and kept watching the clock.

During break, Kirishima asked, "Is something wrong, Kuwabara?"

"No," Kuwabara said shortly, even though it was obvious that something was. But Kuwabara had this irrational fear that if he told someone about his dad's promise, then Mr. Kuwabara wouldn't be able to keep it.

His distraction didn't go unnoticed by his teacher either. "Kuwabara!" Kuwabara jumped, and realized that the teacher had called his name several times.

"Sir?" Kuwabara said, realizing that even though he'd been in class all day, he couldn't remember his teacher's name.

The man's eyes narrowed. "I'm collecting your summer homework," he prompted.

"I don't have it," Kuwabara said after searching through his bag. He'd been so upset that morning he must have forgotten it. Not that he'd done very much of it in the first place, despite Shizuru's admonitions.

"This isn't starting the year off well, Kuwabara," the teacher said. "I do hope you improve as time goes by."

"Kay," Kuwabara said, glancing at the clock again and disappointed so little time had gone by.

When school finally ended Kuwabara ran all the way home, not bothering to wait for Shizuru at their normal meeting spot. When he arrived, he found his dad sitting on the porch steps waiting for him.

Mr. Kuwabara grinned. "See? I told you nothing would happen to me."

Kuwabara dashed over and hugged his dad. "I'm really glad."

* * *

><p>Words: 249<p> 


	62. Chapter 62

Kuwabara was practically walking on clouds the next day when he went to school. Not even Shizuru's irritation about how he'd left her the afternoon before could bring him down. His dad was okay, and he was going to stay that way. He'd promised.

In fact, Kuwabara felt so good, he decided he was going to challenge Urameshi to another fight after school. _I'll definitely get him this time!_

But when Kuwabara got to school, Urameshi wasn't there.

_Maybe he's just late,_ Kuwabara thought, but as time passed, Urameshi never came.

Kuwabara couldn't help but worry about the other boy. What had happened to make him stay away from school? Was he sick? Had something happened to his mother? Had he moved? Had he been abducted by aliens?

_I'll wait and see if he's here tomorrow,_ Kuwabara decided. If Urameshi was still missing then, Kuwabara was going to make it his business to find out what had happened.

* * *

><p>Words: 158<p>

AN: Sorry for missing last Thursday; I was in the process of moving back to college.


	63. Chapter 63

To Kuwabara's great relief, Urameshi was at school the next day. Surprisingly, he didn't look as though he had been sick, or kidnapped, or any of the horrible things Kuwabara had imagined happening to him.

When they got their first break, Kuwabara walked over to Urameshi and asked, "Why weren't you here yesterday?"

Urameshi barely spared him a glance. "I didn't feel like coming."

Kuwabara tried to process this. "You…skipped?"

"Yep," Urameshi said. "It was pretty fun, actually. You should try it sometime."

Kuwabara scowled, partly because he knew he wouldn't dare try and skip school, and partly because he knew even if he did try his father would put a stop to it really quick. "That's being irresponsible."

Urameshi laughed at him. "What's it matter? It's not like school's important anyways. But if you're too much of a fraidy cat, I understand."

"I'm not afraid!" Kuwabara said.

Urameshi grinned. "Oh, yeah? Then I dare you to skip school."

And now, Kuwabara realized, he was in trouble.

* * *

><p>Words: 167<p> 


	64. Chapter 64

Kuwabara couldn't bring himself to follow up on Urameshi's dare all week; each time he walked into the classroom, he had to face Urameshi's mocking smile. His brown eyes taunted Kuwabara, calling him a coward for refusing to skip class the way Urameshi had done.

Urameshi's mockery burned, and every day Kuwabara would think, _Tomorrow. I'll definitely do it tomorrow._ But then his dad would come home from work, and his resolve would disappear. He knew without asking that his father would never approve of him skipping school. But he didn't know how much more of Uramehsi's sneers he could take.

One morning his father said, "I'm going to be working late today, so you two will have to eat supper by yourselves."

Kuwabara's heart began to beat faster. His dad was going to be gone late; that meant this was the best chance he'd get to go along with Urameshi's dare if he was going to do it.

_I have to. I can't let him get away with calling me a coward._

That meant the only person he had to fool was Shizuru. That shouldn't be too hard. They split ways before either of them arrived to their respective schools; he'd just have to walk with her until then, and be sure to meet her at the usual time after school let out.

Kuwabara's nerves left him feeling queasy as he walked with Shizuru that morning, and of course she noticed. "Something wrong, Kazuma?" she asked.

"No, nothing's wrong," Kuwabara said.

She eyed him suspiciously. "Spill."

"I have a test today, and I guess I'm nervous, that's all," Kuwabara lied. He had to stop himself from cringing as he did so; he'd never lied to Shizuru before.

She didn't seem convinced, but all she said was, "You'll do fine."

* * *

><p>Words: 300<p> 


	65. Chapter 65

Kuwabara paced in his bedroom. He hadn't been sure where to go when skipping school, so he'd gone back home. Now that he was there, he couldn't relax at all. Every noise made him jump, afraid it was the sound of his father coming back.

_Dad said he wasn't coming home until late tonight._

The thought didn't help. Finally, Kuwabara decided to distract himself by playing video games. He went to the living room and quickly became absorbed in his favorite game, so much so he almost didn't hear his dad's car pull in the driveway.

"Shoot!" Kuwabara said, and jumped forward to turn off the TV. Quickly he ran down the hall and hid in his closet, hoping that his dad wouldn't realize he was there.

_Why is he back? I thought he was going to be gone all day._

Straining his ears, Kuwabara heard the front door open, and then silence. Kuwabara held his breath, trying to hear what was going on over the sound of his pounding heart.

Kuwabara nearly screamed when his closet door yanked open; he hadn't heard his father enter the room. Mr. Kuwabara glared down at him.

"Why are you home?" he asked in a quiet voice that let Kuwabara know he was in for it.

Kuwabara cringed; there was no point in trying to hide the truth. "Urameshi dared me to skip."

His dad was quiet a moment. "Come on."

Kuwabara followed, not daring to ask where they were going. "Get in the car, Kazuma."

He climbed in the car, and they pulled out the drive. "Since I can't trust you to get to school on your own, I'm going to be taking you there from now on."

Kuwabara sank low in his seat; he'd have preferred any punishment to those words.

* * *

><p>Words: 300<p> 


	66. Chapter 66

Kuwabara was in his room working half heartedly on his homework when his dad got home from work and came to speak with him. Kuwabara had known this talk was coming and had dreaded the thought of it all day.

"Kazuma," he said, "I want you to explain to me why you thought it would be okay to skip school just because Urameshi dared you to."

"I knew it was wrong," Kuwabara admitted. "But Urameshi called me a coward for not skipping, and I wanted to prove him wrong!"

Mr. Kuwabara sighed. "Kazuma, it's never cowardly to do what's right. Sometimes doing the right thing isn't easy or fun, and sometimes people will make fun of you for doing the right thing; but you should never let that stop you from doing what needs to be done. Giving into peer pressure and doing something wrong shows that you're weak."

Kuwabara slumped, utterly crushed. "I'm sorry, Dad."

He smiled at Kuwabara. "I know you are. Promise me you won't give in to peer pressure like this again?"

"I promise," Kuwabara said.

His dad hugged him. "Good. But I'm still going to drive you to school until you prove you can keep your word."

Kuwabara nodded, new determination filling him. He'd show his dad that vows made by Kazuma Kuwabara would never be broken.

* * *

><p>Words: 222<p> 


	67. Chapter 67

"How come your dad drives you to school now?" Urameshi asked one day during recess.

Kuwabara glared at him. "Cause I tried to skip and he caught me."

Urameshi laughed. "What did you do, go home when you skipped?"

Kuwabara blushed. "What else was I supposed to do?"

"Go anywhere but home!" Urameshi said. "Geez, you're such a moron!"

Kuwabara straightened, insulted by Urameshi's words. "I challenge you, Urameshi! After school today!"

Urameshi grinned. "Sure, why not? What's the count now? Forty to zero?"

"Forty-three to zero," Sawamura corrected him, in what Kuwabara felt was an unnecessary display of helpfulness.

Urameshi waved when the bell rang for them to go back to class. "Don't chicken out and try to sneak away, Kuwabara."

The end of school couldn't come soon enough. When school finally let out, they walked a little ways away so none of the teachers would see them and went to it with a will. For the forty-fourth time, Kuwabara lost.

"I don't know why you bother, Kuwabara," Urameshi said. "You're never going to beat me."

Kuwabara glared at him, but he refused to admit that a part of him was very much afraid that Urameshi was right.

* * *

><p>Words: 199<p> 


	68. Chapter 68

"Shizuru, have you been thinking about what high school entrance exams you want to take?" Mr. Kuwabara asked one night over dinner.

Shizuru took a sip of her drink and said, "I'm not going to high school."

Kuwabara paused in his eating when Mr. Kuwabara froze. "What do you mean you're not going to high school? Of course you're going!"

"I don't want to," Shizuru said. "When I graduate from middle school, I'm going to start working for Mrs. Yamata at her beauty parlor."

Mr. Kuwabara glowered. "You can work part time while attending school."

"There's no point in me going," Shizuru said. "I've been talking to Mrs. Yamata; if I work for her she'll teach me to be a beautician and hire me on to work for her. I don't need high school for that."

"And being a beautician is what you want to do with the rest of your life?" Mr. Kuwabara asked incredulously.

Shizuru shrugged. "It'll pay the bills."

"You're going to high school," Mr. Kuwabara insisted.

Shizuru raised her chin defiantly. "No, I'm not."

Unnoticed, Kuwabara slipped out of his chair and away from the table. He wasn't sure who would win this argument, but he really didn't want to be there until it was over.

* * *

><p>Words: 210<p> 


	69. Chapter 69

Kuwabara's excitement about the last week of school diminished somewhat when he saw Shizuru's stony face on their walk home. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No," she said shortly.

"Okay," Kuwabara said, completely unconvinced. He tried to think about what might have upset her. Stumbling on an option, he ventured, "Did you get your entrance exam results back?"

"Yes," she said.

"How'd you do?" Kuwabara asked.

"I failed them," Shizuru said, as matter-of-fact as if she'd said the sky was blue.

Kuwabara stopped walking in surprise. He knew Shizuru made good grades; there was no way she should have failed all her exams. Remembering her argument with their father, he understood. Shizuru had failed her tests on purpose; their father couldn't make her go to high school if she hadn't been accepted to any of them. If that was her plan, she wasn't upset that she had failed, but she was steeling herself for Mr. Kuwabara's reaction when he found out.

Kuwabara wisely decided he'd be hiding out in his room this night.

* * *

><p>Words: 173<p>

AN: Sorry about being late; between a test and a paper, I completely forgot about updating yesterday. My bad.


	70. Chapter 70

Kuwabara resisted the urge to whoop with joy as he left the school building. The school year was over and it was time for summer vacation! Summer vacation had to start off properly of course, which could only mean one thing.

"Urameshi! I challenge you!"

Urameshi sighed. "I don't feel like fighting."

Kuwabara floundered. "You can't refuse my challenge!"

"Actually, I can," Urameshi said snidely. "That's one of the rules, remember?"

Kuwabara did; if one of them said to stop they had to. But that was only supposed to be if one of them was hurt or something! Urameshi couldn't just use it to say _no_. Could he?

Urameshi walked away. "Later Kuwabara."

Kuwabara watched him go, stunned. What was he supposed to do if Urameshi didn't want to fight?

* * *

><p>Words: 130<p>

AN: Sorry about missing all last week. A combo of Real Life and Writer's Block hit hard. But I'm back and I've got some new ideas, so hopefully it won't happen again!


	71. Chapter 71

The lousy start to Kuwabara's summer only predicted worse things. Okubo went to camp, Kirishima's family went on vacation, and Sawamura was grounded for a prank gone wrong, leaving Kuwabara no one to play with for the first weeks of summer. It didn't help that things were tense at home because of Shizuru's refusal to attend high school like Mr. Kuwabara had wanted. She had also started working, which meant Kuwabara was spending days at his house alone, something he'd never done before.

This was why Kuwabara looked forward to Fridays. On Friday Shizuru didn't work but Mr. Kuwabara did, so Kuwabara could spend time with his sister without the tense atmosphere. Then Shizuru had to ruin that too.

"Dad, this Friday I'm going out on a date," Shizuru said.

Mr. Kuwabara eyed her. "With who?"

"His name is Shiro," Shizuru said. "He went to my school, but he was in a different class. We're just planning to go out to lunch and maybe catch a movie or something."

Mr. Kuwabara considered this, and finally shrugged. "I guess fourteen is old enough to date. But if he tries anything, I'm going to kill him."

Shizuru rolled her eyes. "You won't need to, Dad."

At first Kuwabara was just hurt and angered that Shizuru was going to leave him alone on the one day they had together, but then he got to thinking about Mr. Kuwabara's words. What exactly might this Shiro try? What could be so bad that he'd threaten to kill someone over it? Did Mr. Kuwabara think that Shiro would _hurt_ Shizuru? The idea was infuriating. Maybe Shizuru wasn't worried, but if Mr. Kuwabara was worried, then the danger had to be real.

Kuwabara made up his mind. When Shizuru went on her date, Kuwabara would be following.

* * *

><p>Words: 300<p>

AN: Campus internet is incredibly unreliable. Also, I went out of town. Those are my excuses.


	72. Chapter 72

Following someone was a lot harder than television said. Kuwabara couldn't count the number of times he'd watched spies in movies follow the bad guy around undetected and with little effort. Kuwabara had lost sight of Shizuru several times, finding her again by luck, and more than once he'd been forced to dive behind cover to keep her from spotting him.

Either Shizuru was more observant than TV villains, or Kuwabara was lacking in sneaky spy skills.

Despite his difficulties Kuwabara remained unnoticed as Shizuru met that Shiro guy. Kuwabara decided he didn't like the look of him. Shiro had straight black hair and long bangs that covered one eye (which seemed silly to Kuwabara; how was he supposed to see?). He was dressed in a black T-shirt with skulls printed on it, baggy black pants, and black boots.

No doubt about it, Shiro was villain material.

Kuwabara's eyes narrowed as they held hands and started walking down the sidewalk. Shizuru wouldn't hold their dad's hand, but she'd hold this guy's hand? What was up with that?

"What are you doing?"

Kuwabara managed not to scream at the unexpected voice. He glared at Urameshi. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Urameshi rolled his eyes. "I wasn't sneaking."

Kuwabara glanced back at Shizuru to make sure he hadn't lost her. He saw the two go inside a café. "I'm following Shizuru," he said as he crept up to the café window to peek in.

"Why?"

"Cause she's on a date and Dad was worried the guy might do something."

Urameshi frowned. "Like what?"

"I don't know…Hurt her?"

Urameshi peered in the café window too. "You couldn't take him on your own," he said. "I'll stay with you."

Kuwabara wanted to protest, but didn't. Truthfully, he was grateful for the backup.

* * *

><p>Words: 300<p>

AN: I love young kids :) Oh, and Syco drew me a cover picture for this story as a birthday present! You should all go look at it, it is too cute! http :/ sycoandcrazy-inc. deviantart. com /#/ d4r1qei (remove the spaces of course).


	73. Chapter 73

Kuwabara really wished he could hear what Shiro and Shizuru were saying as he watched them through the café window. He especially wanted to know what was said when Shizuru started blushing; he'd never seen his sister look embarrassed before, and Kuwabara didn't like it that Shiro seemed so pleased he'd managed to embarrass her.

"How long are they going to stay in there?" Urameshi grumbled. "I'm getting hungry."

"You don't have to stay," Kuwabara pointed out.

Urameshi's reply was cut off when Shiro and Shizuru got up from the table. Kuwabara dragged Urameshi around the side of the building so they wouldn't be spotted.

"Where are they going now?" Urameshi asked.

"Shizuru said they might go to the movies," Kuwabara told him.

The two boys followed the couple, and they went to the movies as predicted. Kuwabara bit his lip in consternation. "I don't have any money to get us in," he said.

Urameshi rolled his eyes. "I know a way to sneak in."

"But isn't that wrong?" Kuwabara asked, frowning.

"Would you rather break a rule or leave your sister alone with that guy?" Urameshi asked.

"Show me," Kuwabara said.

Urameshi led him around the back of the theater and showed him a window to the men's bathroom that didn't latch. They snuck in and found their way to the theater Shizuru and Shiro were in. There were few people in the theater at that time of day, and they were very spread out. Kuwabara and Urameshi snuck into some seats two rows behind Shizuru and Shiro as the movie started.

Kuwabara grumbled when he saw Shiro put an arm around Shizuru. He glowered when Shiro leaned close and whispered something in Shizuru's ear. Then he gaped as the teens started kissing.

* * *

><p>Words: 294<p>

AN: Overprotective little brothers are adorable :)


	74. Chapter 74

It wasn't like Kuwabara had never seen kissing before. Both his parents had kissed Shizuru and him plenty of times, and he'd seen them kiss each other too. But those kisses were always quick, and usually done on the cheek or forehead. Never had Kuwabara seen kissing like this. It looked like they were trying to eat each other's faces off. Why would anyone actually _want_ someone to do that to them?

"Did he just stick his tongue in her mouth?" Urameshi whispered, sounding as horrified as Kuwabara felt.

It was all too much for Kuwabara, and he decided this must be the something Mr. Kuwabara had been worried about.

"Get off of my sister!" he yelled, launching himself at Shiro. The teen pulled back from Shizuru just as Kuwabara barreled into him, knocking him out of his seat and to the floor. Urameshi was there a second later to help, but before either of them could get a good hit in, Shizuru dragged them off.

She shoved them away and glared murderously. "Outside. Now."

* * *

><p>Words: 175<p> 


	75. Chapter 75

Kuwabara wavered between indignation and fear as Shizuru marched him and Urameshi outside. He'd expected Shizuru to be mad if she caught him, but he didn't really feel like he'd done anything wrong. He'd only been trying to protect Shizuru.

She glared down at Kuwabara and Urameshi. "Just what do you two think you're doing?"

Kuwabara's courage in the face of her anger was strengthened by the sight of Shiro standing behind her. Kuwabara glared determinedly. "I was protecting you from him!"

"I was hoping for a good fight," Urameshi put in, seemingly unbothered by Shizuru's anger.

Shizuru sent Urameshi an irritated look. "You go home."

"Later Kuwabara," Urameshi called as he dashed off.

Kuwabara glared after him. _Deserter._

Shiro stepped forward then, and laid a hand on Shizuru's shoulder. "Hey, don't be too hard on your brother," he said. He sent Kuwabara a friendly grin. "I've got a little sister; I'll probably follow her around on her first date too."

Kuwabara eyed him suspiciously. He'd seen bad guys on TV pretend to be friendly so the hero would let their guard down; he did not plan to fall for the same trick.

Shizuru sighed, and Kuwabara was shocked to realize she was over her fit of temper already. Shizuru never got over things that quickly. How did two sentences from Shiro make her relax?

"Go home, Kazuma," Shizuru said. "We'll talk about this later."

"…Fine," Kuwabara said, knowing arguing would be pointless.

"It was nice meeting you, Kazuma," Shiro said, sounding amused. "Just please don't attack me the next time we meet, okay?"

Kuwabara glared. "I can give you no promises." If he made a promise, he'd have to keep it.

"Go," Shizuru said, sounding exasperated.

Kuwabara left, stewing the whole way home.

* * *

><p>Words: 294<p> 


	76. Chapter 76

Shizuru apparently wasn't speaking to Kuwabara after she got home, and Kuwabara was irritated enough to not care. Instead he found himself thinking about the date, and the kiss, and wondering why anyone would want to do something like that. What was so appealing about girls anyway?

Kuwabara gave this thought great consideration. He didn't really know girls outside of Shizuru, and she was his sister so she didn't count. The only girl he even halfway knew was Yukimura, and that was only because she hung out with Urameshi all the time. Kuwabara tried to imagine kissing her, and couldn't.

"I'm home!"

Kuwabara perked up at the sound of his dad's voice. He dashed out of his room to greet him. "Welcome home Dad!"

Mr. Kuwabara hugged him and grinned. "How was your day?"

"Fine," Kuwabara said. Then he blurted out what was on his mind. "Why do guys and girls kiss?"

"What?" Mr. Kuwabara asked, startled.

"Why do guys and girls kiss?" Kuwabara repeated.

Mr. Kuwabara eyed him, as if considering something particularly tricky. "Well…Guys and girls kiss if they like each other."

Kuwabara frowned. "So, if I had a friend that was a girl, I'd want to kiss her?"

"Not necessarily," Mr. Kuwabara said. "You'd only want to kiss someone that you _really_ liked. A girl you were thinking about marrying maybe."

"Oh," Kuwabara said. Then his eyes widened. "Shizuru's going to _marry_ Shiro?"

"What?" Mr. Kuwabara thundered. "Shizuru kissed Shiro?"

That…probably wasn't good.

* * *

><p>Words: 246<p> 


	77. Chapter 77

Kuwabara spent many of his days at the park for the last half of his summer. Shizuru was good at holding grudges, and the easiest way to deal with it was to not be around her. On days when he wasn't joined by his friends, he would find himself secretly watching the girls at the park, and to his surprise they were actually _interesting._

Everything about them was just so different than it was with boys. The way they dressed was weird, with their skirts and frills and bows. Even if they were wearing a T-shirt and jeans, their clothes still tended to be girly colors and have hearts or flowers or cute little animals on them. The way they played was different as well, even if they were playing the same games. If Kuwabara was playing a game of tag with his friends, he had no qualms with shoving them over or tackling them, and they'd do the same to him. Kuwabara had never seen a girl do something like that, nor had he ever seen them play wrestle, or play soldiers, or cops and robbers (and Kuwabara felt they were really missing out). When girls played they were…gentle.

They were _weird._

But despite their oddness, or maybe because of it, now that Kuwabara had started watching them, he couldn't seem to stop. It didn't help to realize that girls could be so pretty, with their big eyes, long, soft hair, and silky skin. Kuwabara wondered what it'd be like to actually talk to a girl; what on earth could he possibly say to one?

Finally, Kuwabara decided the only way to get his questions answered was to ask the only person he knew who had any sort of experience with them.

"Urameshi? Why are you friends with Yukimura?"

* * *

><p>Words: 300<p>

And so Kuwabara begins to discover the world of girls ^-^ He's so cute.


	78. Chapter 78

Urameshi looked down at Kuwabara from the monkey bars. "Huh?"

Feeling awkward, Kuwabara repeated his question.

Urameshi dropped down to the ground. "Why shouldn't I be friends with her?"

"Well," Kuwabara said, "she's a girl. Girls are…different."

"Says who?" Urameshi asked with a scowl.

Kuwabara gaped at him. _Says who?_ Did it need to be said? All a guy had to do was watch them and it was obvious. "They are!"

Urameshi rolled his eyes. "They're just people, y'know? They nag a bit more than us, but they're cool."

Kuwabara eyed the girls, doubting they were as simple as Urameshi seemed to think.

"Hey," Urameshi said. "You're not scared to talk to a girl, are you?" he asked with a grin.

"No!" Kuwabara answered even though the thought of talking to a girl made his palms sweaty and his stomach nauseous.

"Then I dare you to go talk to one," Urameshi said.

Kuwabara gulped and looked at them. His honor demanded that he accept the dare, but he couldn't help but think that he was about to be humiliated. "Fine," he said through gritted teeth. Stiffly he began to walk towards the group of girls when a new girl that he recognized arrived.

_That's Yukimura,_ he thought with relief. He'd talked to her before, if only briefly, and she'd been nice. Confidence restored, Kuwabara walked up to her and said, "Hey, Yukimura."

She looked up in surprise, and then smiled, and Kuwabara was struck by how pretty she was. "Hello, Kuwabara. How's your summer been?"

"It's been fun," Kuwabara said returning her smile. "Yours?"

"Mine's been fun too," Yukimura said. "Are you here with Yusuke?"

"Yeah," Kuwabara said. "He's right over there." Kuwabara turned to point to him and froze when he saw Urameshi glaring furiously.

_What I do now?_

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><p>Words: 300<p>

AN: I have no excuses for not posting Thursday...I was just being lazy...


	79. Chapter 79

"I'm going to go say hi to Yusuke," Yukimura said.

"Okay," Kuwabara said, and she dashed off to the other boy. Kuwabara followed at a slower pace. He'd never seen Urameshi look that angry before, and Kuwabara had seen him angry plenty of times. But why would Urameshi be angry that Kuwabara had decided to talk to Yumimura? He was just doing what Urameshi had dared him to do.

Urameshi whispered something to Yukimura who looked surprised and then irritated. "Yusuke, you're such an idiot," she said before turning on her heel and stalking away.

He glared at Kuwabara. "This is all your fault."

"But I didn't do anything!" Kuwabara protested.

Urameshi shoved him. "Don't you ever talk to Keiko again."

Angry now, Kuwabara shoved Urameshi back. "You can't tell me who I can and can't talk to!"

Then Urameshi hit him, and the argument descended into an all out brawl that got the two of kicked out of the park by angry parents.

Kicking rocks as he walked home, Kuwabara muttered, "I hate him."

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><p>Words: 175<p>

AN: You thought I wasn't going to post again, didn't you? O Ye of Little Faith.


	80. Chapter 80

"What's got you in such a bad mood?" Mr. Kuwabara asked.

Kuwabara told him about what had happened at the park with Yusuke's dare and the two of them getting in a fight over Yukimura.

"I just don't get why Urameshi got so mad at me," Kuwabara complained. "He's the one who told me to talk to a girl in the first place."

Mr. Kuwabara considered this. "Kazuma, I think Urameshi might like this Yukimura girl."

"Of course he does, they're friends," Kuwabara said.

Mr. Kuwabara smiled and shook his head. "No, I mean he likes her like a girlfriend."

"Oh," Kuwabara said. "So she's Urameshi's girl."

"It sounds like it," Mr. Kuwabara said. "You should probably do as Urameshi says in this situation."

Normally Kuwabara would balk at the idea of doing anything Urameshi said, but if Urameshi _liked_ her liked her, then Kuwabara was willing to make an exception.

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><p>Words: 151<p>

AN: So, I was redoing some of my math for how many chapters would be in this story, and I realized that my original answer of 150 was wrong...This story should actually be 170 chapters to take it to the point where I plan to stop. So, you all get an extra twenty chapters. Yay?


	81. Chapter 81

For the first time, Kuwabara's steps were filled with trepidation as he walked into his school building. He didn't really want to be there. The school day hadn't really even started and he was already missing the freedom that summer break provided.

_Shizuru's lucky that she doesn't have to come anymore,_ he thought as he slouched at his desk. _Maybe I shouldn't go to high school either…_ Shizuru certainly seemed to be doing fine without it, now that their dad had gotten over the fact that she wouldn't be going.

Kuwabara was idly watching the students chatting while waiting for their teacher to call the class to order when a girl he'd never noticed before walked through the door. She had pale skin, large brown eyes, and shoulder length black hair that curled around her face. She was by far the prettiest girl he'd ever seen, and…and…her seat was right in front of his!

Kuwabara flushed and looked down, hoping she didn't notice his staring. _Maybe school isn't so bad._

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><p>Words: 170<p>

AN: Sorry about posting a day late. Whenever I tried to log in yesterday, my internet wouldn't let me. Not sure if that was FF's fault, or my computer's. Oh well.


	82. Chapter 82

Her name was Sakura Tsukimori. Her best friend was Hina Watanabi, her favorite color was pink, she always had pickled plums with her lunch, and she liked to read shojo manga.

Kuwabara learned all this during the first two weeks of school simply by observing her. He hadn't actually managed to talk to her yet, but he was trying to work up the courage to do so.

He was watching her one day during their break when Urameshi wandered over and commented, "She'll never go for you."

"What are you talking about?" Kuwabara asked, annoyed at being taken from his new favorite pastime.

Urameshi nodded towards Sakura. "That Tsukimori girl. She's never gonna like you. Girls like her don't like guys like us."

"What do you mean, guys like us?" Kuwabara demanded.

Urameshi rolled his eyes. "If you can't figure that much out on your own, you're even more hopeless than I thought."

Urameshi sauntered away, and Kuwabara glared at his retreating back. What did Urameshi mean? It wasn't like Kuwabara was all that different from the other kids in his school. Was he?

He asked his friends about it later that day. "Are we different from the other kids here?"

"Kind of, I guess," Kirishima said.

"Most kids don't get in as many fights as we do," Sawamura said.

"Or get in trouble for not bringing their homework," Okubo added.

That was true…But surely Sakura wouldn't reject Kuwabara solely because he got in fights and wasn't the best student.

"Do you think that would bother a girl?" Kuwabara asked.

"Why would you care about a _girl_?" Kirishima asked.

Kuwabara blushed. "Cause I _like_ her."

His statement was met with a shocked silence.

"Well," Okubo finally said, "I guess the only way to find out is to ask her."

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><p>Words: 299<p> 


	83. Chapter 83

It took a few days before Kuwabara got a chance to talk to Sakura alone. He didn't want to make his confession in front of her friends, and did girls have any idea how intimidating it was when they traveled in packs?

But finally he caught her alone in the hallway one morning. "Um, Tsukimori?" he asked.

She seemed surprised that he'd spoken to her. "Yes?"

He blushed when she looked up at him, and he had to swallow several times before he could force the words out. "I, um, just wanted to tell you, that, um, I, I really like you!" he finished in a rush.

Her eyes widened even more, and she exclaimed, "Ew! I'd never like you!"

Kuwabara gaped at her, too shocked to feel hurt by her instant rejection. "Why?"

She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "I'm waiting for my prince to come for me! You're just an ugly punk; nowhere near prince material." Every word was like a knife to his heart; he'd known she might reject him, but he hadn't expected this.

Sakura turned on her heel and walked away, leaving in the hall to nurse his wounds. Tears blurred his eyes, and he wanted nothing more than to run home to his father. But he couldn't do that, because his father wouldn't be home right now, and he'd only get in trouble for skipping school.

"Told you she'd never like you."

Kuwabara turned around in horror. Urameshi! He had seen everything! "Sh-shut up, Urameshi!" Kuwabara snapped.

Urameshi smirked at him. "Why should I? I was right. She turned you down flat."

Hurt and angry, Kuwabara punched Urameshi with all his strength, and soon they were rolling on the floor, wailing on each other, headless of the shouts of their schoolmates and teachers.

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><p>Words: 300<p> 


	84. Chapter 84

Kuwabara could tell that his dad was frustrated and disappointed that he had to leave work in the middle of the day to pick Kuwabara up from school, which only added to the pile of misery he felt. Short of the day he found out his mother died, this was probably the worst he'd ever felt. He'd been cruelly rejected by his first love, mocked by Urameshi, defeated by Urameshi _again_, and his dad was mad at him.

It was a miserable boy indeed that climbed into Mr. Kuwabara's car and strapped himself in.

"Want to tell me what all this was about, Kazuma?" Mr. Kuwabara asked as they pulled out of the school parking lot.

Kuwabara opened his mouth to explain and burst into tears.

Mr. Kuwabara said some words that would have had Mrs. Kuwabara washing his mouth out with soap. A few moments later he was pulled over and had Kuwabara settled into his lap.

Kuwabara clutched his dad's shirt and cried hard for several minutes. He finally settled down enough to tell his dad what had happened. When he was done, his dad sighed and ruffled his hair. "A talk this big deserves some ice cream. What do you say we go get some?"

Kuwabara nodded, never one to turn down ice cream.

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><p>Words: 217<p>

AN: Sorry to be MIA for so long. For whatever reason, it's much harder for me to consistently update when I'm off school for the summer. At any rate, I know I won't be able to update on a set schedule for the summer, so updates will go back to being random (though I do hope to keep them frequent). Thanks for your patience!


	85. Chapter 85

Kuwabara's spirits were somewhat lifted by the purchase of a large banana split. Still, if he let his thoughts linger on what had happened too long, all the pain came rushing back.

Mr. Kuwabara waited until Kuwabara had finished about half of his ice cream before he started talking. "It's rough, when a girl you like rejects you," he said.

Kuwabara's eating slowed. "I knew she might not like me," Kuwabara said. "But why'd she have to say no like that?" He could have handled the rejection if she just hadn't been so…so _cruel_ about it. "It was like she didn't even care that I liked her."

"She probably didn't," Mr. Kuwabara said. "Let me tell you something, Kazuma. Most people are incredibly selfish. It's human nature to be so. All they care about are themselves, and other people really don't matter. I've known very few people who aren't selfish like that." Mr. Kuwabara reached over and ruffled Kuwabara's hair. "You're one of the one's who aren't selfish. You get that from your mother. She was one of the most selfless people I ever met."

"You're not selfish," Kuwabara said.

Mr. Kuwabara smiled, somehow looking sad at while doing so, which was weird. "Oh, I'm very selfish. You're just too young to see it yet." He leaned forward a little. "You may not understand me now, but I'm going to say this anyway. That girl? She's not good enough for you. And I don't want you settling for just any pretty girl, Kazuma. I want you to keep looking, until you find a girl whose as selfless as you are. Understand?"

"I'm not sure," Kuwabara said. He didn't feel particularly selfless, whatever his dad said.

Mr. Kuwabara just smiled. "One day you will."

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><p>Words: 293<p>

AN: Hello again! Well, I did warn you all updates would be sporadic, didn't I? I am trying to type up a bunch of chapters though, so I can get a stacked backed up so these long breaks won't keep happening. We'll see how that goes.

Hope everyone's had a good summer! Mine is very nearly over.


	86. Chapter 86

Kuwabara tried to take his father's words to heart and not let Sakura's rejection get him down. It was hard though, seeing her at school every day and knowing that she thought he was ugly and beneath her notice.

He had never really considered his appearance before. He'd just sort of assumed he was good looking. Now he found himself studying the mirror to see. He was tall, taller than any of the kids in his class, and his body did seem to be mostly arms and legs. His orange hair was the same color as his mother's had been, so he liked that. But his eyes were kind of small, and his nose was crooked from that time Urameshi had broken it. He just felt awkward now every time he looked in the mirror.

"You know what you need?" his dad said one day. "You need a new hairstyle. You've had this little boy cut for too long now."

"What kind of new hairstyle?" Kuwabara asked, curious.

"It's a good one," Mr. Kuwabara said. "I used to wear it a lot. It's called a pompadour. Let me get my hair gel and you'll see what I'm talking about."

A few minutes later Kuwabara eyed his dad's handiwork in the mirror. It made him look different; more mature, Kuwabara thought. He grinned widely. "I like it. It's me."

Mr. Kuwabara grinned down at him. "I thought you would."

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><p>Words: 238<p> 


	87. Chapter 87

"I'm home!" Kuwabara called as he walked in the house.

"Hey, little man."

Kuwabara started at the sound of the strange voice. Looking up he saw Shiro hanging out by the kitchen doorway where Shizuru was fixing something to eat. Kuwabara hadn't actually seen Shiro since that whole fiasco at the theater where Kuwabara had followed him and Shizuru, though the two teens had kept dating. Still, as far as Kuwabara knew, in all that time Shizuru had never brought Shiro home.

"What are you doing here?" Kuwabara blurted out.

Shizuru glared at him over Shiro's shoulders, but Shiro just laughed. "Shizuru invited me over for dinner."

"Does Dad know?" Kuwabara asked, directing this question to Shizuru.

"He will when he gets home," Shizuru said.

Kuwabara wondered how that would go.

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><p>Words: 131<p>

AN: So, I'm back at school! This means I'm going to try and start updating on Tuesdays and Thursdays again.


	88. Chapter 88

Mr. Kuwabara could be a stern person when he wanted to be. But Kuwabara had never seen him be stern for quite so long. He didn't crack a smile even once throughout the whole meal.

For his part, Shiro didn't seem at all bothered by Mr. Kuwabara's glower. He kept up a fairly steady stream of relaxed chatter, grinning affably the whole time. Kuwabara found he had to respect Shiro, if only a little, for being able to keep his cool like that.

After dinner Shizuru walked Shiro out, and when she returned she glared at her dad. "Would it have killed you to be nice to him?"

Mr. Kuwabara sipped his after dinner tea. "Probably."

Shizuru rolled her eyes and stomped away to her room.

"You know, Kazuma," Mr. Kuwabara said when she was gone, "I think I kind of like that boy."

Well, as long as Mr. Kuwabara said if first… "I do too," Kuwabara told him.

Mr. Kuwabara ruffled his hair. "But we don't have to let him know that yet, do we?"

Kuwabara grinned. "Nope."

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><p>Words: 179<p> 


	89. Chapter 89

Kuwabara hadn't spoken much to Urameshi since his rejection from Sakura, but Kuwabara was startled out of his silence when Urameshi showed up covered in bruises. During their break, Kuwabara approached him.

"What happened to you?"

Urameshi glared up at him. "Some punks from another school decided that only people from their school should be able to play at the arcade, so I had to fight them when I went."

Kuwabara was surprised. "Why would they do that?"

"Cause they're idiots," Urameshi snapped.

Kuwabara frowned as he considered this new information. These guys were also bullies. "Are they going back there?"

Urameshi shrugged. "How should I know? I just fought them, I don't hang out with them."

Kuwabara left Urameshi then and went to see his friends. "Hey guys," he said.

"Yeah?" Sawamura answered for the group.

"You guys doing anything today after school?" Kuwabara asked.

"Nope," Okubo said.

"I don't have any plans," Kirishima said.

"Same here," Sawamura put in.

"Good," Kuwabara said. "We're going to the arcade today."

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><p>Words: 170<p> 


	90. Chapter 90

They were at the arcade. There were four of them, and they were wearing the uniform of a middle school. Kuwabara scowled. "I can't believe that middle schoolers would pick on elementary school kids."

"Yeah," Okubo said. "That's completely dishonorable."

"Unless," Kirishima said cracking his knuckles, "those elementary school kids are us."

Kuwabara grinned and marched forward toward the doors of the arcade. Predictably, the middle schoolers moved to block him.

"Scram, kid," one of them, who Kuwabara guessed was their leader, said. "Only kids from our school are allowed to go here."

"Says who?" Kuwabara demanded.

"Says us," said another of the boys, shoving Kuwabara back.

Kuwabara caught himself before he fell and grinned. "That was a big mistake."

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><p>Words: 120<p> 


	91. Chapter 91

"So," Kuwabara said a few days into summer when he and his friends had gotten together. "Here are the rounds we have to make; at some point each week, we've got to hit the arcade, the park, and the ice cream shop."

"I can't believe those jerks," Okubo grumbled, "trying to keep kids out of the ice cream shop unless they go to their school."

"That's why the four of us have to stop them," Kuwabara said. "That way all the kids can go."

Kirishima grinned. "I bet we'll get famous doing this."

"Yeah," said Sawamura. "We'll be the badest punks around!"

"And we'll be fighting for justice!" Kuwabara declared. "That's the most important part. Remember, our blades defend the helpless!"

"But Kuwabara, we don't use swords," Okubo said.

Kuwabara rolled his eyes. "Fine. Our _fists_ defend the helpless."

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><p>Words: 139<p> 


	92. Chapter 92

Kuwabara and his friends were making their rounds when they ran into Urameshi near the arcade. Judging by the hurt boys they saw running away, Urameshi had just finished a fight.

"What happened?" Kuwabara asked, curious.

"Those jerks wanted to keep me out of the arcade, so I taught 'em a lesson," Urameshi said cockily.

Kuwabara frowned, the tiniest bit peeved that Urameshi had done their job for them. "Well, I was going to challenge you today, but I guess it wouldn't be fair since you already fought a couple other people."

Urameshi grinned. "Oh, no, Kuwabara. I don't have to be fresh to beat you."

Well, that did it. Nothing could have stopped Kuwabara from fighting Urameshi then. Unfortunately for Kuwabara, Urameshi was more than capable of backing up his words.

"That's sixty-three to zero," Okubo told Kuwabara after Urameshi left.

Kuwabara glared at him. "You know, you don't have to update the count every single time."

Okubo had the grace to look a little embarrassed. "Sorry."

* * *

><p>Words: 168<p>

AN: I'm not going to be updating in the next few weeks. Sorry for the delay, but Syco and I are really close to finishing our story When the Coin Melts, so I want to focus on that without having to worry about anything else. We've only got three chapters left to write; hopefully we can finish those up in about three or four weeks, and then I'll get back to working on this. Again, I'm sorry, and I thank you for your patience.


	93. Chapter 93

It was an ominous sign indeed when Shizuru stomped into the house after another date with Shiro, slammed the front door shut, stomped down the hall to her room, and slammed her bedroom door closed.

Kuwabara sat on the couch wide-eyed, staring in the direction of her bedroom. Usually when Shizuru came home from a date with Shiro, she was in a good mood; he'd never seen her upset like this before. He bit his lip, trying to decide if he should go ask her what was wrong or just leave her alone.

_I wish Dad was home from work already. He'd know what to do._

Finally concern for his sister won out over Kuwabara's sense of self-preservation, and Kuwabara slid off of the couch and went to her bedroom door. He hesitated for just a second before knocking.

"Go away!" Shizuru yelled.

"Are you okay?" Kuwabara asked.

"Leave me alone!" Shizuru snapped, but Kuwabara was certain he'd heard a sob in her voice. Righteous indignation filled him. Had Shiro done something to hurt her? Any goodwill Kuwabara had towards Shiro disappeared in a flash.

Kuwabara tried her door, but it was locked. "Shizuru, tell me what's wrong or I'm calling Dad!" Kuwabara said.

Shizuru cracked the door open and glared at Kuwabara with red-rimmed eyes. That upset Kuwabara even more, because Shizuru never cried.

"Shiro's family is moving to Spain," Shizuru said. "Happy now?"

She slammed the door shut in Kuwabara's face before he could say anything.

Kuwabara's anger evaporated when he realized that Shiro hadn't done anything wrong. Kuwabara wanted to do something to make Shizuru feel better, but she didn't seem to be in the mood for comfort.

_Wait, I know what'll make her feel better!_

Inspired, Kuwabara headed towards the kitchen.

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><p>Words: 295<p>

AN: Just wanted you all to know I haven't forgotten about this story. My main focus right now is trying to finish Assassin (I attempted to finish it with NaNoWriMo and totally failed T.T Writing 50,000 words in the busiest month of the semester is hard...). This story will probably get some sporadic updates every so often, but I won't be focusing on BE until I finish Assassin. Thank you so much for your patience!


	94. Chapter 94

Kuwabara flipped through his mother's old recipe books and notes, trying to find the recipe he was thinking of. Since her death they hadn't eaten nearly as many of the European dishes that she used to make, but there was one he could think of that Shizuru had loved more than any other.

"Here it is," Kuwabara said triumphantly. It was a simple recipe, written in his mother's neat handwriting on lined notebook paper, and it explained how to make homemade donuts. Kuwabara read over what he'd need. "I'll have to run to the store for some of this," Kuwabara said to himself. They didn't have any premade biscuits for him to use, nor did they have powdered sugar.

Kuwabara got his allowance and quietly left the house, not that he really thought Shizuru would notice his absence right now. He rushed to the nearest food store and bought what he'd need, and then rushed back home. Once in the kitchen, Kuwabara eyed the stove warily. He wasn't really supposed to mess with the stove or something as dangerous as hot oil by himself, but Shizuru was in no mood to come watch him, and Mr. Kuwabara wouldn't be home for another two hours at least.

Finally Kuwabara got over his nervousness, telling himself he'd simply be careful. He followed his mother's recipe to the letter, and to his surprise the donuts actually turned out nearly as good as when she'd used to make them. Soon the house began to fill with the warm smell of sweet pastries.

Eventually Kuwabara heard Shizuru's door open, and she poked her head into the kitchen. "Donuts?" she asked.

"Yeah," Kuwabara said. "It seemed like a good idea."

Shizuru smiled then, just a little bit. "Thanks."

Kuwabara smiled back. "You're welcome."

* * *

><p>Words: 297<p>

Just wanted you all to know I'm still alive! I haven't hardly written anything in the past two months, and I apologize for that. I will try and update this a little more frequently, but I can't really do weekly updates right now. Also, yay for cute sibling moments!


	95. Chapter 95

Kuwabara was going to the park to meet his friends when he saw Urameshi ducking into an alley. Curious, Kuwabara decided to follow him.

Kuwabara went into the alley, but didn't see Urameshi. Kuwabara went to the end of the alley and looked behind the buildings, where he spotted Urameshi holding something in his hands.

"What are you doing?" Kuwabara asked.

Urameshi jumped, clutching whatever was in his hands close to his chest. He glared at Kuwabara. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Kuwabara shrugged. "What are you doing?" he asked again.

"It's none of your business," Urameshi snapped.

That really made Kuwabara curious. "I'm not leaving until you tell me."

Urameshi rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said. He showed Kuwabara what he'd been hiding; a half empty pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

"You can smoke?" Kuwabara asked, awed. His own father smoked every once in a while, but Kuwabara wasn't allowed to mess with Mr. Kuwabara's cigarettes.

"Well, no, I'm not _allowed_ to smoke," Urameshi said, "but my mom smokes all the time so I figured I'd try it."

"Oh," Kuwabara said. He paused for a moment. "Can I try one too?"

Urameshi shrugged and handed one over. "Sure, I guess."

Urameshi got one for himself and lit them. Kuwabara nervously watched the smoke curl up from the cigarette and then he put it to his lips and inhaled the way he'd seen his father do.

The smoke tasted foul and burned his lungs, causing Kuwabara to double over coughing. His stomach rolled, and Kuwabara was afraid he was going to be sick. Urameshi didn't look to be faring any better than Kuwabara was.

"Uh, thanks for that, but I just remembered I've got to meet the guys," Kuwabara said. He had decided that cigarettes were overrated.

* * *

><p>AN: Underage smoking is bad! Don't Try This At Home! And for those of you celebrating, Happy Easter!<p>

Words: 300


	96. Chapter 96

"Kazuma," Mr. Kuwabara said with a frown after Kuwabara got home from the park. "Why do you smell like smoke?"

Kuwabara's eyes widened. He hadn't thought that Mr. Kuwabara would be able to smell the cigarette smoke on him, and he knew if his dad found out what he'd done he'd be in big trouble. "I don't know," Kuwabara said, unwilling to admit that he'd tried smoking with Urameshi.

Mr. Kuwabara frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Is that so?"

Kuwabara felt his face flush under his dad's stare, guilt for the lie already eating away at him. "I tried smoking a cigarette with Urameshi," Kuwabara admitted.

Mr. Kuwabara's frown deepened. "Haven't I told you that you're too young for smoking, and you're not allowed to do it?"

"Yes," Kuwabara said.

"So you deliberately disobeyed me," Mr. Kuwabara said.

Kuwabara wilted. It wasn't like he'd set out to disobey his dad! It had just sort of happened. But he had known that trying that cigarette was against the rules when he'd done it, so he supposed in a way his dad was right. Kuwabara had known the rule, and he'd purposely broken it.

"Yes," Kuwabara finally said.

"I'm disappointed in you, Kazuma," Mr. Kuwabara spoke the words that Kuwabara hated hearing the most. "I thought you had more respect for me than that."

"I'm sorry," Kuwabara said miserably.

"You're grounded for the next week," Mr. Kuwabara said. "No leaving the house without me, no video games, and no friends over. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Kuwabara said.

"Good," Mr. Kuwabara said, and then he hugged Kuwabara. "I still love you, Kazuma, but when I make a rule, I make it for a reason, and you have to obey me."

Kuwabara hugged him back. "I love you too, Dad."

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><p>Words: 300<p>

AN: I intend to start updating ever Sunday now. Depending on how my writing goes, you may get a random update during the week as well, but Sundays are the definite update day right now.


	97. Chapter 97

Being grounded was incredibly boring. Which was kind of the point, punishments weren't supposed to be fun, but still. What did his dad expect Kuwabara to do all day?

Kuwabara was sitting out in the backyard bemoaning his fate, mostly because Shizuru had gotten tired of hearing him complain that he had nothing to do, when he heard a noise. It was a pitiful, high-pitched, whining sound.

"What was that?" Kuwabara asked himself.

The noise came again, from just outside the chain link fence that surrounded their backyard. His curiosity aroused, Kuwabara followed the noise. "Oh!" he gasped when he saw what was making it. It was a kitten, roughly the size of his hands, with patchy brown and black fur. It stared mournfully up at him with brown eyes and meowed again.

"Hey there," Kuwabara said, sticking his fingers through the fence to gently stroke its head. "What are you doing here?"

It meowed again, and Kuwabara climbed over the fence so he could pick the kitten up. "Where's your mom?"

Kuwabara glanced around and didn't see any sign of a cat, but he sorta had a weird tingling running down his spine. He decided to walk a ways past the neighbors' yards to his right, to see if he could find her. The kitten settled in his arms, purring softly. In a few minutes, Kuwabara found the cat, but when his eyes landed on her, he whirled around so the kitten wouldn't see her. It looked like a dog had gotten her.

The kitten meowed at Kuwabara's sudden movement, and he stared down at it, heart breaking. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "Your mom is gone." An old familiar pain welled up inside, nearly choking Kuwabara. "Don't worry," he said. "I'm going to take care of you now."

* * *

><p>Words: 300<p> 


	98. Chapter 98

Shizuru stared at him incredulously when Kuwabara walked into the house. "Kazuma, why do you have a kitten?"

Kuwabara held the kitten protectively. "His mom was killed by a dog. I couldn't just leave him!"

Shizuru stared at him for a moment and then looked back at the television she'd been watching before he came in. "Whatever. It's not like I care. Dad's the one you'll have to convince if you want to keep it."

When his dad got home, Kuwabara instantly rushed to meet him. "Dad, please, can I keep him?" Kuwabara asked holding the kitten up.

Mr. Kuwabara looked surprised. "Where'd you get that kitten?"

"I found him," Kuwabara said. "His mom was killed by a dog, and he doesn't have anyone now, so can I please take care of him?"

Mr. Kuwabara was quiet for a moment and then sighed. "Well, if you're going to keep him we'll need supplies. Come on, in the car. What's his name anyways?"

Kuwabara grinned from ear to ear. "His name is Ryuko."

* * *

><p>Words: 172<p>

AN: Note, I know in the anime/manga Kuwabara's cat is named Eikichi. This is not Eikichi.


	99. Chapter 99

Kuwabara eagerly took on the responsibilities that came with the new kitten. He cleaned Ryuko's litter box, kept his food and water dishes filled, and spent hours playing with the kitten. He used his allowance to buy Ryuko new toys, and he couldn't wait for his grounding to be over so he could show off his new pet to his friends.

When the week was up, Okubo, Sawamura, and Kirishima all came to his house to visit, but they were less than impressed with the kitten.

"You should have gotten a dog," Sawamura said. "They're more fun."

"Yeah," Kirishima said. "Cats don't do tricks and stuff like dogs do. They won't even play fetch."

Kuwabara scowled. "Ryuko is a good pet. 'Sides, I like cats better than dogs. And cats do play games with you."

"Like what?" Okubo asked.

"I'll show you," Kuwabara said, picking up one of the toys he had bought for Ryuko. It was basically a string with a bell and feathers tied to one end. Kuwabara dangled the toy over Ryuko's head. Instantly the kitten's ears perked up, and his eyes latched on to the toy. He batted at the toy with his paws, but Kuwabara pulled it away before Ryuko could get a good grip on it. This prompted the kitten to jump for the toy, but he missed, causing the boys to chuckle at the comic image he made.

"I guess cats are kind of entertaining," Sawamura said.

"I still like dogs better," Kirishima said.

Kuwabara rolled his eyes. Some people were just too stubborn to admit a good thing when they saw it.

* * *

><p>Words: 270<p> 


	100. Chapter 100

Summer was coming to a close and school was about to start again. Kuwabara was unhappy about this, as it meant that Ryuko would be stuck in the house by himself for hours a day while Mr. Kuwabara and Shizuru worked and Kuwabara went to his classes.

"What if he thinks I abandoned him?" Kuwabara worried.

"He won't think that," Mr. Kuwabara said. "Cats are very independent creatures. He'll be fine on his own. Besides, with you coming home every day, he'll learn soon enough that you'll be back." Mr. Kuwabara chuckled. "Trust me, Kazuma, you're more anxious about the separation than Ryuko will ever be."

Kuwabara wasn't quite convinced, but since not going to school wasn't really an option, he quit complaining.

* * *

><p>Words: 123<p> 


	101. Chapter 101

Kuwabara was not in a good mood his first day of sixth grade. He supposed he should have been excited for the start of his last year in elementary school, but all he could think about was how much he'd rather be sleeping than trudging along the sidewalk to his classroom.

"Stupid school," Kuwabara grumbled.

His mood only worsened when he made it to his school and was surrounded by all the excited, chattering voices. It just didn't seem right that all the other kids should be so cheerful when he was so irritated, and their cheer only irritated him further.

In the hallway, one of the students tripped and stumbled heavily into Kuwabara, who was in no mood to be chivalrous. Kuwabara shoved the unfortunate second grader away, and snapped, "Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry!" the boy squeaked and dashed away.

Kuwabara rolled his eyes. He couldn't wait for this day to be over.

* * *

><p>Words: 155<p> 


	102. Chapter 102

During the first few weeks of school, Urameshi was absent several times. Kuwabara knew it wasn't because Urameshi was sick. He was just skipping school again, and each time Urameshi was absent Kuwabara's resentment grew.

Kuwabara would have loved to skip school. For some reason, none of his teachers this year seemed to like him, and all the stuff he was learning this year seemed more pointless and stupid than ever. But Kuwabara didn't dare try and skip again, because he'd promised his dad he wouldn't, and Kazuma Kuwabara _never_ broke a promise.

But why did Urameshi have to skip school all the freaking time?

After school one day Kuwabara and his friends cornered Urameshi. "Today is the day that I defeat you!" Kuwabara declared.

"Bring it!" Urameshi said.

Once Kuwabara had lost again, and was lying on the ground staring up at the blue sky, he realized something strange. All his frustration, his pent up stress…It was all gone. Sure he'd lost the fight, but he still felt more relaxed than he had before he'd fought Urameshi.

"Yo, Kuwabara, you okay?" Okubo asked while leaning over him.

Kuwabara grinned up at him. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"I think Urameshi might have hit him a little too hard," Sawamura said, eyeing Kuwabara's smile.

"I'm fine, guys," Kuwabara said shoving himself up. A fight with Urameshi had apparently been just what he'd needed.

* * *

><p>Words: 231<p> 


	103. Chapter 103

"Have you thought about what middle school you want to go to, Kazuma?" Mr. Kuwabara asked over dinner one night.

Kuwabara blinked. "Not really."

"You need to start thinking about it," Mr. Kuwabara said. "Before you know it, it'll be time for you to start taking entrance exams. You need to know where you want to go."

Kuwabara wished he didn't have to go to middle school at all, but he knew he had to stick the whole school thing out until he was finished with middle school. Then he could quit like Shizuru had and not bother with going to high school.

But another three years seemed like a really, really long time to go.

* * *

><p>Words: 116<p>

AN: So, apparently updating on Sunday's just isn't going to work for me while I'm home this summer. Therefore, I'm switching update days to Monday. Hopefully I can keep this schedule, and I'm sorry for the lack of updates.


	104. Chapter 104

"Hey," Kuwabara said over lunch, "have any of you guys thought about what middle school you're going to go to?"

"Not really," Sawamura said.

"Me neither," Okubo said.

Kirishima just shook his head since his mouth was stuffed with food.

"We should think about it," Kuwabara said. "We want to make sure all of us go to the same middle school, right?"

His three friends chorused their agreement. "What about Urameshi?" Okubo suddenly said. "What if he goes to a different middle school than us?"

Kuwabara blinked. The idea that Urameshi might not attend the same middle school as him simply hadn't occurred to Kuwabara. He'd just sort of assumed that wherever he went, Urameshi would be there. The idea of going to school without him just seemed wrong.

"We'll just have to make sure Urameshi's going to the same school as us too," Kuwabara said. "He's not allowed to go somewhere else until I beat him in a fight!"

"So, what?" Kirishima asked. "You're just assuming you won't beat him this year?"

Kuwabara sputtered. "Of course I will! This is just a backup, you know, in case I don't."

"Maybe you should just admit that you and Urameshi are friends," Okubo said.

Kuwabara glared at him. "Me and Urameshi aren't friends! We're rivals! There's a huge difference!"

"Whatever you say, Kuwabara," Kirishima said.

* * *

><p>Words: 224<p> 


	105. Chapter 105

Kuwabara had a conundrum. How exactly was he supposed to figure out what middle school Urameshi was going to without making it seem like he was actually interested? Because he _wasn't_. He just wanted to make sure that his and Urameshi's rivalry could continue. There was absolutely nothing friendly about that. Not at all.

He thought about just asking Urameshi what middle school he was going to apply to, but that would make Urameshi want to know why Kuwabara wanted to know, and Kuwabara didn't want to face the humiliation of Urameshi assuming things that weren't true the way Okubo had.

Finally, Kuwabara hit on what seemed like a perfect strategy. He could ask that Yukimura girl what school Urameshi was going to go to. That way Urameshi would never have to know that he'd been asking about it.

It took a few days for an opportunity to present itself, but Kuwabara finally managed to get her alone between classes one day.

"Hey, Yukimura?" he said.

"Yes, Kuwabara?" Yukimura replied.

"I was wondering if you happen to know what middle school Urameshi is applying to," Kuwabara said, trying to sound casual.

Yukimura tilted her head to the side. "Why don't you just ask him?"

Kuwabara sputtered. He hadn't expected a response like that! "Just 'cause," he finally said.

Yukimura rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure he's going to apply to Sarayashiki, since that's where I'm going."

"Okay," Kuwabara said. "Thanks."

* * *

><p>Words: 240<p>

AN: Fun fact, I actually have the last two chapters of this story written. It's all the chapters in between this one and those that I have to worry about.


	106. Chapter 106

Entrance exams were coming up, and Kuwabara found he had less and less time for playing as he studied to make sure he'd get into the school he had picked.

_This might be easier if I'd actually paid attention in class._

If only his classes weren't so boring. Learning some of the stuff made sense, like reading, writing, and counting. He could see how those skills would affect his life. But how exactly was history important? Or science, even? Maybe they would be important if he wanted to be a historian or scientist, but he didn't, so why did he have to learn about them? Why not just let him learn things he'd actually use in his life? That would make much more sense to his way of thinking.

_Whoever decided we needed to learn all this stuff must be stupid. Or mean. Or just hates people._

All three options were equally plausible in Kuwabara's mind.

* * *

><p>Words: 156<p> 


	107. Chapter 107

The day of his entrance exam, Kuwabara went home feeling brain dead. That had been a _long_ test.

"How'd it go?" Shizuru asked.

"Why is getting into a middle school so hard?" Kuwabara complained.

Shizuru smirked. "As you get older, everything gets harder."

Kuwabara scowled. "Then I don't want to grow up!"

"If you don't grow up, you'll have to go to school forever," Shizuru pointed out.

"Growing up sounds good," Kuwabara hastily amended.

Shizuru seemed amused by how quickly he changed his tune. "I thought you'd say that. Now come on."

Kuwabara sat up. "Go? But I just got home!"

Shizuru shrugged. "Fine. If you don't want an ice cream…"

"I'm coming!" Kuwabara cried and followed after her.

* * *

><p>Words: 119<p>

AN: A special midweek update, simply because I adore all of you :)


	108. Chapter 108

Despite Kuwabara's growing disdain for school, he couldn't help but be excited when the results of their entrance exams were returned.

Eagerly, he ripped open the envelope that his results came in and scanned the page for the information he wanted.

_I made it!_

He twisted in his seat to check if his friends had made it. Their grins and thumbs ups told him that they had. But had Urameshi?

Kuwabara had to wait until they had a break before he could approach his rival and ask. "So, what middle school are you going to next year?" Kuwabara asked, trying to seem casual.

"Sarayashiki," Urameshi said.

"Me too," Kuwabara said, pleased with this turn of events.

Urameshi leaned back and laced his hands together behind his head. "Guess this means you'll be known as the second biggest punk at Sarayashiki when we get there."

Kuwabara's irritation at Urameshi's words was instantaneous. "No way, Urameshi! I'm gonna be the biggest punk at Sarayashiki! Just you wait!"

Urameshi laughed. "I'd have to die or something for that to happen!"

* * *

><p>Words: 177<p> 


	109. Chapter 109

Kuwabara was deep in thought, though not about the teacher's lesson. He was trying to make plans for becoming the biggest punk at Sarayashiki. How did one go about making a reputation like that?

_What do I know about punks?_

He considered what he saw on television. The TV characters that often got called punks were generally rude, got in fights a lot, and sometimes did things like steal from stores and smoke and drink. Some of them were just flat out mean. Actually, come to think of it, aside from the illegal stuff and the smoking and drinking, they reminded him a lot of Urameshi.

Kuwabara frowned. He just couldn't see himself doing some of that stuff. Breaking laws would be dishonorable, and he'd already tried smoking and hadn't liked it. He seriously doubted if he'd like drinking any more than he had liked smoking, since the two always seemed to go hand in hand.

About the only think he could see himself doing that the punks on TV did was get into fights. Well, maybe he could be rude to people. Rude to guys, that is. A knight should never be rude to a lady; he'd learned that from reading some of his mother's old books.

_But if all I can do is fight, how am I supposed to be a bigger punk than Urameshi?_

He puzzled and puzzled over it, and when the answer came to him it was surprisingly simple. Kuwabara would just have to fight everyone.

* * *

><p>Words: 251<p> 


	110. Chapter 110

Kuwabara watched the clock as he teacher droned on and on. Honestly, what could their teacher expect them to learn on the last day of class? Summer was beckoning, and Kuwabara was eager for the freedom it offered. When school ended today, he'd never set foot inside this building again. He'd officially be a middle schooler, and he'd be that much closer to being done with school for good.

The second hand seemed to move in slow motion, but finally it reached the three. The bell rang and Kuwabara scrambled out of his desk, ignoring his teacher's shout not to run in the building.

He was free!

Laughing and yelling, his friends close on his heels, the four of them ran all the way to Kuwabara's house. When they arrived, Kuwabara was surprised to find Shizuru waiting for him on the front porch.

"What's up, Shizuru?" he asked.

"It's Ryuko," Shizuru said. "I'm sorry."

* * *

><p>Words: 154<p> 


	111. Chapter 111

Kuwabara lay on his bed staring blankly up at the ceiling. He hadn't cried when Shizuru informed him that Ryuko had been hit by a car that morning after he'd gone to school. He didn't really feel sad even. Just sort of…empty.

There was a knock on his bedroom door and Mr. Kuwabara stuck his head in. "Kazuma? You okay?"

"I guess," Kuwabara said.

Mr. Kuwabara came in and sat down on the edge of his bed. "Want to talk about it?"

Kuwabara didn't say anything, but his dad just sat there and waited in silence. Finally, Kuwabara voiced the question that had been burning in him since he'd heard about Ryuko. "What's the point? In caring I mean. We lose everything eventually, so why bother caring? Wouldn't it be easier if we didn't?"

"You always have to ask the hard questions, don't you?" Mr. Kuwabara asked dryly. "Tell me, Kazuma, can you really imagine going through life not caring about me and Shizuru? Or your friends? Or your mother? Can you imagine a life where we didn't care about you?"

"No," Kuwabara admitted quietly.

"Caring hurts," Mr. Kuwabara told him. "When people you care about hurt, you hurt. When they leave or are taken from you, you hurt. When they do or say something mean, you hurt. That's a part of life. But all that hurt is worth it for the time you have with the ones you care for. If you could go back to the day you found Ryuko, knowing that you wouldn't have him long, would you do anything different than you did before? Would you leave him outside our fence to fend for himself?"

Tears stung Kuwabara's eyes for the first time. "No," he whispered.

Mr. Kuwabara hugged him. "I didn't think so."

* * *

><p>Words: 298<p> 


	112. Chapter 112

Summer started on a sour note. Kuwabara missed Ryuko, and being home every day only emphasized the loss. Disliking the emptiness of his house, Kuwabara took to roaming the streets with his friends. Initially they stuck to places they knew, like the park, the ice cream shop, and the arcade. But eventually the familiarity of these places led to boredom so they began going to places they weren't quite as familiar with, not all of them quite as nice.

But the wanderings served their purpose, providing Kuwabara with a distraction. And as the wanderings introduced Kuwabara to the different territories claimed by the delinquents of different middle and high schools, they also served to remind Kuwabara of his plan to become the biggest punk at Sarayashiki.

Picking fights with students of other schools might not have been the safest or most creative route, but it certainly was fun.

* * *

><p>Words: 148<p> 


	113. Chapter 113

Although Kuwabara consistently won the fights against the delinquents from other schools, he didn't come out of them completely unscathed. He began coming home with a colorful collection of scrapes and bruises that were largely ignored until he came home with a black eye.

"Kazuma," Mr. Kuwabara said as he examined his face. "How many fights have you been getting into?"

"A lot?" Kuwabara answered, trying not to wince with pain.

Mr. Kuwabara stepped back looking bemused. "Who are you fighting exactly? Have you been finding Urameshi everyday or something?"

"No," Kuwabara said. "I mean, I've fought him a couple times this summer already, but I've been getting in most of these fights with kids from other middle schools."

"Why?" Mr. Kuwabara asked.

"Because I want to be the biggest punk at Sarayashiki," Kuwabara said. "Urameshi said he would be, but I'm going to beat him. 'Sides, those other guys are all jerks."

Mr. Kuwabara shook his head. "Just don't get yourself too hurt doing this. I don't want you jumping into any fights you can't handle."

"I won't, I promise," Kuwabara said.

* * *

><p>Words: 183<p> 


	114. Chapter 114

Kuwabara and his friends were wandering the city as had become usual for them, when sudden chills tickled their way up and down his spine. He froze and his whole body stiffened up.

"Yo, Kuwabara, what's wrong?" asked Kirishima when they noticed that Kuwabara wasn't walking.

Kuwabara's eyes darted around, searching for the danger that his mind insisted was there. He didn't see anyone, but a spooky sort of coldness emanated from the abandoned apartment building they were standing in front of.

"We need to get out of here," Kuwabara said.

"What for?" Okubo asked.

"Yeah, there's not anyone around," said Sawamura.

How could they not feel the wrongness coming from the building? Okubo took a step towards Kuwabara, and Kuwabara's adrenaline spiked. Not even knowing what he was supposed to be saving Okubo from, Kuwabara yelled, "Look out!" and tackled Okubo. A second later concrete rubble from a balcony on the apartment building hit the sidewalk where Okubo would have been if Kuwabara hadn't tackled him.

Kirishima and Okubo started at Kuwabara with wide eyes while Sawamura tried to see who had pushed the rubble down. "I don't see anyone!" Sawamura announced.

Kuwabara glanced up. He didn't see anyone either, but he knew without a doubt that _something_ was up there watching them, and it was mean.

"Let's go," Kuwabara said, and this time the others didn't question him.

Once they were back to a slightly more populated part of the city, Kirishima asked, "What was going on back there?"

Kuwabara shifted uncomfortably. Ever since that first incident by the Selling House years ago, Kuwabara had started noticing the presence of what he was sure were ghosts. But he'd never talked about it, not even with his dad. He sighed. "Let's find somewhere to sit and I'll tell you."

* * *

><p>Words: 300<p> 


	115. Chapter 115

They ended up stationing themselves in the ice cream shop; the friendly atmosphere and sweet treats were a comfort after what had happened, though none of them were likely to say so out loud.

"It started the summer after first grade," Kuwabara told them. "Sometimes I'll get this sort of…tickly feeling I guess, and I know there's a ghost nearby."

Okubo's eyes widened. "You can see ghosts?"

Kuwabara shook his head. "No, no, I can't see them. I just sort of feel their presence. It didn't used to happen very often, but it seems to happen more the older I get. Some of them leave you alone, but then there are others like today that aren't so nice."

"This is so totally awesome," Kirishima said. "If you can sense ghosts you could be like a ghost hunter or something when you grow up!"

Staring at their grinning faces, tension that Kuwabara hadn't even realized he had left him. It felt good to talk about this with someone. He'd never told his dad because of how Shizuru had said their parents hadn't believed her, and talking with Shizuru about this just felt weird. But his friends completely accepted Kuwabara's announcement, and even thought the unique ability was something cool.

Kuwabara laughed as they went on about the amazing future he would likely have battling evil ghosts. "You guys are great," Kuwabara told them.

* * *

><p>Words: 232<p>

AN: Sorry for missing last week's update. I was moving back into college. Now that I'm here, I'm hoping to get back to biweekly updates, but that'll have to wait until I figure out how busy I'm going to be.


	116. Chapter 116

On one particularly sweltering day, Kuwabara didn't feel like going outside. Instead, he sprawled out on the couch and watched TV, but since it was the middle of the week, nothing good was playing of course.

"Kazuma, would you go to the store and pick up some stuff for dinner?" Shizuru asked.

"Why don't you go do it," Kuwabara replied, flipping to another station.

Shizuru marched in front of the TV and stood with her hands on her hips glaring down at him. "I'm busy. If you want to eat dinner, go to the store."

Kuwabara glared back. "Maybe I don't want dinner."

She grabbed the back of Kuwabara's shirt and yanked him off the couch and towards the door. Kuwabara stumbled after her, not knowing what else to do, since he probably couldn't break her grip without actually hurting her. She shoved him through the doorway and tossed a piece of paper at him.

"You can come back inside with you have everything on that list," Shizuru snapped and the door clicked shut in his face.

Grumbling under his breath, Kuwabara snatched up the paper. It looked like he was going to the store.

By the time he made it to the market sweat was rolling down his face and back, and the air inside the store felt blessedly cold. He walked slowly getting the food Shizuru wanted, not eager to go back out into the heat. But eventually he had everything and made his way over to the cashier. He got to the register at the same time as a woman pushing a cart, and it took him a moment to recognize her as Urameshi's mother.

* * *

><p>Words: 278<p>

AN: Sibling relationships aren't always nice.

I know I've missed some update days, and I'm sorry about that. It seems Monday may no longer be a convenient day for me to update with school now. I haven't decided on the new update day yet, but I'll let you know when I post the next chapter.


	117. Chapter 117

Mrs. Urameshi looked as surprised as Kuwabara when she recognized him. "You're Kuwabara, aren't you? Urameshi's friend?"

"Rival," Kuwabara corrected automatically. "Yes, ma'am."

She smiled. "Ma'am isn't necessary. You can just call me Atsuko."

The idea of calling Urameshi's mother by her first name seemed incredibly weird, and went directly against what his parents had taught him. "You can check out first," Kuwabara said politely.

She moved ahead and started unloading frozen dinners onto the counter for the cashier. "I haven't seen you in ages," she said. "How have you been?"

"Fine," Kuwabara answered. It really had been a long time; the last time Kuwabara had seen her, his own mother had still been alive. Kuwabara probably wouldn't have recognized her if she didn't look so much like Urameshi.

"Yusuke tells me you're going to the same middle school as him," Atsuko said.

"I am," Kuwabara replied, wondering just how this situation could get more awkward.

"You're total is—" the cashier started, but Atsuko interrupted him.

"Hold on, I've got one more thing coming," she said. She scanned the aisles. "That boy had better hurry though."

_That boy? Does she mean?_

And then there he was, walking towards them with a case of beer under each arm.

"It's about time, Yusuke!" Atsuko said. "At least your little friend here has kept me company while you were taking your sweet time."

_And it just got more awkward._

* * *

><p>Words: 237<p>

AN: So, I'm thinking the new update day will be Saturday. That should be easier for me to manage than Monday updates.


	118. Chapter 118

"What are you doing here?" Urameshi asked with a scowl.

Kuwabara rolled his eyes. "Getting groceries."

"Yusuke, you're holding up the line," Atsuko said.

Urameshi put the beer on the counter and the cashier rang it up. He and Kuwabara stood next to each other awkwardly while Atsuko dug money out of her purse to pay for everything.

"So, how's your summer been?" Kuwabara asked, mostly to break the weird silence.

"Boring," Urameshi said. "Yours?"

"About the same," Kuwabara shrugged. Then he grinned. "I have been handling a lot of thugs though."

Urameshi looked just a little interested. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," Kuwabara said. "Meet me tomorrow in the empty lot near the arcade and I'll show you what I've learned."

"Yusuke, it's time to go," Atsuko called from the door where she was impatiently waiting.

"I'll see you there," Urameshi said as he walked over to her.

Kuwabara turned to the cashier to pay for his items, feeling just a bit lighter of heart.

* * *

><p>Words: 165<p> 


	119. Chapter 119

Summer was drawing swiftly to a close, and Kuwabara was determined to spend as much of it out with his friends as possible before school started once more and his freedom was snatched away. In pursuit of this, they stayed out later and later, eventually even staying out past their normal dinner times. It was because of this that Kuwabara saw something he really wished he hadn't seen.

"Hey, Kuwabara, isn't that you're dad?" Sawamura said.

Kuwabara looked, and sure enough, his father was leaving a nearby restaurant in the company of…a woman? She was short and petite, with dark brown eyes and black hair cut in a short bob. Dressed in khaki slacks and a silky green blouse, she made a picture that was completely the opposite of the one presented by Kuwabara's mother.

He struggled to process what he was seeing as Mr. Kuwabara and the woman walked down the sidewalk in the opposite direction of Kuwabara and his friends, their arms casually linked. "Dad said he had to stay late at work," Kuwabara protested feebly.

"I'm no expert," Kirishima said, "but that doesn't look like work to me."

Kuwabara felt like the ground was dissolving beneath his feet. His father had _lied._ To him, and to Shizuru, all so he could go on a date with some, some _woman_, and how could he do that? How could he want to go out with any woman after he'd been married to the most wonderful woman ever?

"Are you okay, Kuwabara?" Okubo asked.

"No," Kuwabara said. "I'm not."

* * *

><p>Words: 259<p> 


	120. Chapter 120

The next day was Saturday, which meant Mr. Kuwabara didn't go to work. Normally Kuwabara loved Saturdays and hanging out with his father all day, but after what he'd seen the night before, he didn't want anything to do with his father.

"Are you all set for school to start on Monday?" Mr. Kuwabara asked.

"Yeah," he answered shortly. He poked at the food on his plate, too annoyed to have a good appetite.

"Are you excited about starting middle school?" Mr. Kuwabara asked after a moment of silence.

Kuwabara shoved his chair back from the table and stood. "I'm not hungry." He picked up his plate and carried it to the kitchen, not missing the looks of surprise on his father and Shizuru's faces as he did so. He was scraping his food into the trash when Mr. Kuwabara followed him in.

"Okay, Kazuma, what's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing," he said, dropping his plate and silverware into the sink.

"You're obviously upset about something," Mr. Kuwabara said. "What is it?"

Unable to hold his emotions in any longer, Kuwabara whirled around and yelled, "Maybe I'm upset because you're a liar!"

Mr. Kuwabara's jaw dropped, and he seemed totally flabbergasted. "I'm _what_?"

"I saw you last night! You weren't working late, you were on a date!" Kuwabara shouted.

Drawn by the yells, Shizuru poked her head in the kitchen. "Really, Dad? It's about time you got back out there." She rolled her eyes then. "But there was no need to lie about what you were doing."

Kuwabara stared at Shizuru, stunned. She was okay with this? Was he the only one that still cared about their mother?

"I hate you both!" Kuwabara yelled, and then he was running. Out the back door, over the fence, and he was gone.

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><p>Words: 300<p> 


	121. Chapter 121

Kuwabara discovered it was very easy to hide from his dad and Shizuru in the city. Neither of them really knew the sorts of places he went now. He wandered the streets, hurt and anger mixing inside him, all of it boiling down to one desperate question.

_Why?_

Wrapped up in his thoughts, Kuwabara wasn't paying attention when he rounded a corner and he walked straight into Urameshi. The other boy shoved him and glared. "Watch where you're going, stupid!"

Kuwabara glared back. "I'm not in the mood, Urameshi."

Something about his tone or expression must have told Urameshi he was serious, because the other boy actually backed off. "What's eating you?"

For a second Kuwabara considered telling Urameshi about his problem. He almost instantly discarded the idea. Urameshi wasn't the sort of person one could confide in. "None of your business," he snapped. "Just leave me alone."

Urameshi rolled his eyes and walked away. "Fine, whatever. It's not like I care."

Reluctant to face his dad, Kuwabara didn't go home Saturday night. Instead, he hid out at Kirishima's house. Of course he had to avoid Kirishima's parents in case they called his dad, so he had to wait until after midnight to sneak into Kirishima's room, and he had to be gone before his parents got up the next morning.

However, by Sunday afternoon, Kuwabara realized he couldn't avoid his father forever, and his steps reluctantly turned toward home. Shizuru met him at the door and her hand connected solidly with his face. "Don't you ever scare us like that again!"

Kuwabara gingerly touched his cheek. He guessed he deserved that, but he wasn't ready to apologize either. "Where's Dad?"

She glared at him. "Where do you think?"

Kuwabara turned and sat on the front porch steps to wait.

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><p>Words: 300<p> 


	122. Chapter 122

Shizuru must have called their dad, because it wasn't very long before he arrived home. Kuwabara stood as the car pulled into the drive, expecting to be scolded for staying gone all night. He was caught off guard when Mr. Kuwabara caught him up in a fierce hug.

"Thank goodness you're all right," he said. Then he pushed Kuwabara back far enough so he could look into his face while keeping a firm grip on Kuwabara's shoulders. "What were you thinking? Don't you ever stay out all night like that again!"

Kuwabara met his father's thunderous expression with one that was equally upset. "I was thinking I didn't want to be around you since you're a liar you don't care about Mom anymore!"

Mr. Kuwabara froze. When he spoke his voice was a scary sort of quiet that Kuwabara had never heard him use before. "Kazuma, I will _never_ stop loving your mother. It doesn't matter how long she's gone, she will always be in my heart. I don't want to hear you say that again."

"Then how could you go out with another woman?" Kuwabara demanded.

Mr. Kuwabara sighed, the anger finally draining from his face. "Let's sit," he said, giving Kuwabara a little push towards the porch steps. Father and son sat, and Kuwabara crossed his arms over his chest waiting for an explanation.

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><p>Words: 226<p> 


	123. Chapter 123

"I went on that date because I've been feeling lonely," Mr. Kuwabara said.

"How can you be lonely?" Kuwabara demanded. "You have me and Shizuru."

"Yes, and I love you both," he replied, "but sometimes I need adult companionship. I love your mother, but she isn't here. She can't talk to me, she can't spend time with me, and I need that from someone."

Kuwabara frowned. "So you went on the date to…find a friend?"

"For now," Mr. Kuwabara answered. "If we keep seeing each other, it might become more than friendship. But if it does become more than just friendship, I don't want you or Shizuru to be upset about it, and I don't want you to feel like I'm trying to replace your mother, because I'm not."

Kuwabara stared at the ground, considering his father's words. He still didn't like the idea of his dad dating someone, but it made Kuwabara feel a little better to know that he wasn't out looking for a replacement for Mrs. Kuwabara. But that wasn't the only thing that was bugging him.

"How could you lie to us?" Kuwabara asked.

Mr. Kuwabara sighed and put an arm around his shoulders. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have. I just didn't know how to tell you two that I was going on a date, and I didn't want you to be upset." He laughed a little. "Obviously I messed that up big time."

Kuwabara leaned into his dad's side. He believed the apology, but he it was still difficult to get past the fact that his dad had lied at all. It was an unwelcome shock to learn his dad could mistakes too.

And speaking of mistakes… "I'm sorry I worried you," Kuwabara said. "And I'm sorry I yelled. I don't hate you."

"I know."

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><p>Words: 300<p> 


	124. Chapter 124

Kuwabara hadn't really expected to be excited for the new school year, but he kind of was. He figured it was probably because he was starting out at a whole new school, with new teachers, new students, and even a brand new blue uniform.

Kuwabara grinned. _Maybe this'll be the year that I finally defeat Urameshi!_

He met up with his friends at the school gates. They exchanged pleasantries that included punching each other in the arm, playful insults, and exclamations about how boring the school was sure to be.

"Hey! Stop roughhousing and get to class!" snapped a teacher. He was a tall man with glasses and a sneer that seemed to be permanently stamped onto his face. Kuwabara couldn't help but glare at the man; he and his friends hadn't really been roughhousing. The teacher saw the look and narrowed his eyes at Kuwabara. "I'll be keeping an eye on you, kid, so watch your step."

"Great," Kuwabara muttered as they made their way inside the building. "School hasn't even started yet and a teacher is mad at me."

"Let's just hope we don't have him as a teacher," Okubo said.

When they made it to their classroom they found their desks and settled in. Kuwabara looked around and felt a pang of disappointment to see that Urameshi wasn't in the classroom. _Did he get put into another class?_ If so, that would make keeping up their rivalry take that much more effort.

But just before the bell rang Urameshi walked into the room. Their eyes met and Kuwabara sent him a challenging grin. The year just might be fun after all.

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><p>Words: 274<p>

Apologies for the late post. I blame NaNoWriMo for my forgetfulness.


	125. Chapter 125

Kuwabara hadn't expected his classes in middle school to be quite so difficult. Granted he hadn't been making excellent grades back in elementary school, but when he'd bothered to pay attention in class he'd at least been more or less able to understand the material. But after transitioning into seventh grade, the difficulty of his classes seemed to skyrocket and Kuwabara ended up feeling more and more lost as time went by.

He considered going to his teachers for help, but in the end he couldn't bring himself to do so. Unlike the teachers he'd had in elementary school, these teachers just didn't feel approachable to Kuwabara. It was because of the way they handed back his assignments. They never seemed surprised or disappointed that Kuwabara wasn't doing well. Their expressions seemed to say that Kuwabara doing poorly was exactly what they expected, and they didn't seem to care if he ever improved.

He found out why this was on the day that he and Urameshi got into a fight just outside of the school. Several teachers had rushed outside, yelling for the "little punks" to break it up. The way they said the word punk caught Kuwabara off his guard. When he'd decided to become the biggest punk at Sarayashiki, he'd thought it would be an achievement to be proud of. It had never occurred to him that it was a choice that others might look down on, and he hadn't known all the stereotypes that went with it.

_They don't care if I learn what they're teaching? Fine. I don't care either._

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><p>Words: 264<p> 


	126. Chapter 126

Urameshi skipped school frequently. Every time Urameshi skipped, Kuwabara got annoyed. He cared for school just as little as Urameshi did, so it was torture to sit through dull classes when Urameshi was off having a great time doing who knows what. After the first few months of school, Kuwabara couldn't take it anymore.

"Where are we going, Kuwabara?" Okubo asked as they left the school at the end of the day.

"We're hunting down Urameshi," Kuwabara said determinedly.

"We are?" Sawamura asked. "Are you going to fight him again?"

"Yep," Kuwabara said. "And this time I'm going to beat him!"

Kuwabara knew where to look for Urameshi. They hung out in the same sort of places after all, so finding the other boy wasn't all that difficult.

"Urameshi, you punk! You're going down!" Kuwabara yelled in challenge.

Urameshi turned and smirked in response. "As if!"

Kuwabara started off well, but the end result of this fight was the same as in all the others.

"That's sixty-seven to zero," Okubo said.

"Wait, that can't be right," Kirishima said. "They had to have had more fights than that over the years."

"Well, they have," Okubo said, "but you can't count the fights that get broken up by teachers. I also don't count fights that Urameshi starts, 'cause those aren't a proper challenge from Kuwabara."

"I see," Kirishima said. "Then yeah, I guess that sounds about right."

"Guys?" Kuwabara said.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up and help me off the ground already."

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><p>Words: 248<p> 


	127. Chapter 127

Kuwabara stared at the piece of paper that had been sent home with him as homework. It ought to have been a simple assignment to complete. It wasn't like it even required real effort to do. He couldn't believe he was struggling so much to answer just one question.

_What career would you like to pursue?_

His homeroom teacher insisted it was an important question. She said their answers would dictate what kind of high school they should go to or whether or not they should go to college. Kuwabara shuddered at the idea of college. Why would anyone volunteer for extra school?

He had no idea what kind of career he wanted to have. The future seemed so far away, he'd never given it much thought. The closest he'd ever come to making plans for the future was declaring that he wanted to be a knight when he grew up, and he was old enough by now to know that wasn't possible in this day and age.

"Maybe a cop?" he mused out loud. Cops were sort of like knights. After all, the point of being a cop was to protect innocent people and lock the bad guys up. Kuwabara started to smile at the idea, but then he imagined his teacher's reaction if a troublemaker like Kuwabara said he wanted to be a cop. Troublemaking punks were not the kind of people that became cops.

The next day, he turned the paper in blank and pretended he wasn't hurt when the teacher didn't look surprised.

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><p>Words: 257<p>

I do apologize for my sudden disappearance. Real life hit hard.

For those interested, I'd like to recommend a free online writing tool I've found called WriteTrack. You can find it at .com. I just started using it and I'm already finding it to be a helpful tool to make me sit down and focus on my writing.


	128. Chapter 128

When Kuwabara had boasted that he would become the biggest punk at Sarayashiki, it hadn't occurred to him that Sarayashiki might already have an established set of punks in place, and that they might not appreciate some new first year muscling in on what they considered their territory. He got the message one day after school when a group of them surrounded Kuwabara and his friends.

"So," said their ringleader, a big third year, "I hear you fancy yourself a hardcore delinquent."

Kuwabara eyed him suspiciously. This guy gave him a bad feeling for some reason, and though Kuwabara technically was a delinquent, he didn't particularly like the word when it came from the other guy.

"And?" Kuwabara asked.

"I could always use some new lackeys," their leader said. "If you can pass our initiation, I might let you and yours join my gang."

Kuwabara bristled at the word lackey. Sawamura, Okubo, and Kirishima weren't his lackeys, they were his friends, and if Kuwabara was their leader it was only because they wanted him to be. This guy's words showed an absolute lack of respect or caring for the people that followed him; Kuwabara would never consent to play second fiddle to someone like him.

"I don't think so," Kuwabara snapped. "Someone like you doesn't deserve to be a leader!"

His eyes narrowed. "You're going to regret turning me down."

"Doubt it," Kuwabara said, shifting his position so he'd be ready for the fight that was sure to follow.

Winning a battle had never felt quite so sweet.

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><p>Words: 258<p> 


	129. Chapter 129

The school year was drawing to a close and a foe Kuwabara hadn't really expected reared its ugly head. Finals. If he didn't pass his finals he'd end up in summer school, and there were few things he could think of that were worse.

"Maybe we could steal the answers to the tests?" Sawamura suggested.

Kuwabara glared at him. "We can't do that! Stealing is wrong, and you know it."

Sawamura sulked a little at the reprimand. "I know, but how else are we going to pass?"

Silence met his question. Finally, Okubo tentatively offered, "I guess we could study?"

The others stared at Okubo in horror. That sounded awful. Finally Kuwabara said, "I guess a few hours studying now is better than getting stuck in a summer class 'cause we failed."

"This sucks," Kirishima said. "At least we don't have to try for A's though. As long as we just pass we should be okay."

It was a small consolation, but it was better than nothing.

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><p>Words: 167<p> 


	130. Chapter 130

"Dead," Kuwabara groaned. "I'm totally brain dead."

"At least finals are over," Okubo said.

"And it's summer now, so we're free for a little while," Sawamura added.

That was a slightly cheering thought, except Kuwabara didn't feel like he had the energy to do anything.

"Hey, stupid, do you think you actually managed to pass those tests?"

Kuwabara looked over at Urameshi's jeering face, and found he suddenly had much more energy than he'd thought. Straightening, he glared at the other boy. "Shut up, Urameshi! There's no way you did any better than we did, not with the way you skip all the time."

Urameshi just laughed. "Is that supposed to be an insult or something? Even if we did get the same grade it still means I'm smarter, 'cause I wasn't here all the time and did as well as you, when you were here."

Kuwabara didn't have words to argue that, so he resorted to his tried and true methods of punching Urameshi, which worked out about as well as it always did. He pushed himself off the ground, wincing at the pain of new scrapes and bruises. "I really, really, hate him."

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><p>Words: 195<p> 


	131. Chapter 131

That summer was the hottest summer Kuwabara could remember. As the temperatures soared tempers shortened and patience was in short supply. Kuwabara blamed the heat then for the number of fights he got into.

But on this particular day, it was too hot to wander around and get into fights. Feeling lazy, Kuwabara flopped down on his bed with his fan on high to keep cool. Shizuru and his father were both at work today, so in the silence Kuwabara inevitably drifted off to sleep.

The dream was hazy at first. He was in a place that could have been a forest, a city, a maze, or a building, he really couldn't tell. But the place wasn't as important as the sound Kuwabara could hear. Someone was crying deep, heartbroken sobs, and Kuwabara's immediate response was to want to offer his help. He stepped toward the direction he thought the crying was coming from, and he saw the first clear image in his dream. It was the old woman that lived with her family next door to Kuwabara. She was sitting on the ground holding her face in her hands and crying those wrenching sobs.

"What's wrong?" Kuwabara asked, because asking if she was alright was obviously stupid.

She looked up at him, tears running down her wrinkle old face. "I don't want to go," she said. "I'm not ready yet; don't make me go!" With her last words she lunged for Kuwabara who woke with a start and a gasp. A strange wailing noise seemed to have followed him from his dream, and it took Kuwabara a moment to realize it was the sound of a siren.

Kuwabara got up and looked out of his bedroom window to see paramedics wheeling out a covered body from the neighbor's house.

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><p>Words: 300<p>

AN: I apologize for the unexpected absence. I really didn't mean to disappear like that, but this semester has been unexpectedly busy, and it doesn't look like that's going to change. In light of this, I can't promise any kind of schedule for my updates, so I have decided to give you guys two options. I can post chapters as I write them, which will mean fairly sporadic updates, or I can wait until I finish writing this story and post chapters every day, which will mean a longer wait at first but then consistent updates. Please vote for whichever option you prefer using the poll on my profile (do note that if no one votes I'll just pick an option, and you may or may not be happy with the option I pick).


	132. Chapter 132

It was time to visit his mother's grave again. In the weeks that had followed her death they had gone out to her grave every weekend, but practicality had made that impossible once the sharpest pangs of grief had dulled. Now visiting her grave was a ritual they completed once a month, though the weekend they did it varied based on whatever their schedules that month dictated.

In the past, Kuwabara had thought the graveyard was a peaceful place. It had seemed serene to him, almost comforting in its quiet. It didn't feel that way anymore.

The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he followed his father and Shizuru through the graveyard. He couldn't shake the feeling of eyes watching him, and he remembered the dream of the old woman after her death. Were there restless ghosts in this graveyard? Kuwabara didn't know, but he definitely felt like there was something.

They stopped in front of his mother's grave, and Kuwabara still thought about the old woman's ghost and how she had been so upset about dying. Suddenly he wondered what happened to people after they died. "Dad?" he asked.

"Yes?" Mr. Kuwabara responded.

"Is there really a heaven and a hell?" he asked.

"You really like to ask the hard questions don't you?" Mr. Kuwabara said. "I suppose we can't know for sure as long as we're alive, but yes, I believe there is."

"Who decides who goes to heaven and who goes to hell?" Kuwabara asked.

"God, I suppose, or something like him," Mr. Kuwabara said. "Why do you ask?"

Kuwabara noticed Shizuru staring at him. He hadn't told her about the old woman yet, but he supposed that after this he'd have to. "We're in a graveyard," he said. "It made me wonder."

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><p>Words: 300<p>

Okay, so the poll is officially tied right now. I'll leave it up for one more week; it will officially close Sunday, June 15. If you haven't voted on it yet, please do so. If you don't have an account, you can leave your vote in an anonymous review and I'll count it. As a reminder, the options are either I post chapters as a write them, or I write all the chapter and don't post until this story is complete.

Come Sunday, if votes are still tied, I will make a decision based on flipping a coin. If you don't want this left totally up to chance, then please, vote!


	133. Chapter 133

"Spill," Shizuru ordered as soon as she had the chance to corner Kuwabara alone. Knowing it was pointless to fight her, Kuwabara told her all about his dream or vision or whatever it was with the old lady's ghost.

"Hm," Shizuru said. "Sounds like your awareness is getting stronger."

"Has yours done that too?" Kuwabara asked.

Shizuru nodded. "Yeah."

"Do you think we're going to keep noticing this kind of stuff our whole lives?" Kuwabara asked. "I mean, is it just going to keep getting stronger?"

Shizuru shrugged. "How should I know? I'm no expert."

Kuwabara frowned at her. "Do experts at ghosty awareness stuff even exist?"

"I know there are people who pretend to be experts at it. But _real_ experts?" Shizuru sighed. "Who knows?"

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><p>Words: 126<p>

AN: Okay, the according to the vote I will keep updating as I get chapters written. At this point, I can't promise frequent, or even consistent, updates of this story. All my plot bunnies are taken up by another story, Switched (which, if you haven't read it, is my attempt to rewrite the entire Inuyasha anime). But I can promise that this story _will_ be finished.


	134. Chapter 134

It was a roasting hot summer day, and Kuwabara didn't particularly want to spend it outside. But both his father and Shizuru were at work today, so there wasn't really anything for him to do at home on his own, either.

_Well, I guess there is something I can do,_ he thought, looking with guilt toward the pile of summer homework he had yet to touch, much less make an attempt at doing. Of course, there was plenty of time left to get it done, he didn't have to do it right this minute, but when he was home alone like this, what else was he supposed to do?

Just as Kuwabara was reaching for the first worksheet, someone started pounding on the front door. "Who could that be on a day this hot?" Kuwabara grumbled and went to answer the door. He opened it up to find his friends standing on the porch, and they shoved their way inside as soon as there was space for them to do so.

"Man, it's hot out today," Kirishima complained.

"Do you have anything to drink?" Okubo asked.

"In the fridge yeah, help yourself," Kuwabara said automatically. "What are you guys doing here?"

Sawamura held up a game. "I got a new video game! Thought you might want to play it with us."

Kuwabara grinned. "Sweet!"

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><p>Words: 224<p> 


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